Greece: online training on fair and effective asylum procedures

Greece: online training on fair and effective asylum procedures

Today, the ICJ in collaboration with Greek Council of Refugees (GCR) is holding the second part of the training for Greek judges and lawyers on asylum procedures and detention of third country nationals.

The first part of the training, which has been held on 18 December 2020, addressed administrative detention of third-country nationals. The second training will consider issues related to fair and effective asylum procedures. Over 60 national judges and 10 Greek lawyers will participate in the training.

Speakers (from the Administrative Court of Appeal, First Instance Administrative court and the Court of Justice of the EU) will discuss Directive 2011/95/EE (inclusion clause in refugee protection status); the asylum procedure and procedural guarantees; case-law of the CJEU on asylum and common issues in asylum applications, including credibility and safe third country.

See the agenda for both parts of the training in English and in Greek.

This training is a part of FAIR PLUS project. It was carried out with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ICJ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Greece: online training on asylum procedures and detention of third country nationals

Greece: online training on asylum procedures and detention of third country nationals

The ICJ and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) today hold the first part of the online training for Greek judges and lawyers on asylum procedures and detention of third country nationals as a part of the FAIR PLUS project.

The training brings together experts from the Greek Administrative Court of Appeal, Administrative Court of First Instance, European Court of Human Rights, GCR, ICJ and academics for a discussion on administrative detention on third-country nationals with a focus on the current situation in Greece.

Among the topics to be discussed today are domestic remedies to detention of third-country nationals; as well as deportation and detention of third country nationals in light of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), EU law and Greek constitutional and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case-law regarding immigration detention.

The second part of the training, on fair and effective asylum procedures, is planned for 15 January 2021, and will focus on Directive 2011/95/EE (inclusion clause in refugee protection status); asylum procedure and procedural guarantees; case-law of the CJEU on asylum and common issues of asylum applications – credibility and safe third country.

This is the third training delivered as part of this project, the first two having been held in person this January in Dublin and last December in Pisa.

See the agenda for both parts of the training in English and in Greek.

This training is a part of FAIR PLUS project. It was carried out with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ICJ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

The effectiveness of the European Court’s rulings in Turkey: old and new challenges

The effectiveness of the European Court’s rulings in Turkey: old and new challenges

Join ICJ and IHOP in this online conference in which Turkish and international experts will discuss the current challenges in Turkey to promptly and fully implement the judgments of the Court and how to improve the execution of judgments in the Turkish national system.

Turkey is the Council of Europe member state with the third highest number of European Court of Human Rights judgments awaiting execution, after the Russian Federation and Ukraine. As a Party to the European Convention on Human Rights and founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey has committed to implement all rulings of the Strasbourg Court, yet the results of this commitment are far from clear.

Implementation of the European Court judgments is a key indicator in Europe of a country’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law, and failure to implement judgments fundamentally undermines access to justice for victims of human rights violations by watering down the impact of their litigation before the Court.

Failure to implement judgments through general implementation measures reforming laws, policies and practices, also leads to persistent, repeated violations of the States’ obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. This problem has existed for many years in Turkey, leaving long-standing systemic human rights problems unsolved. Recently civil society has denounced the Turkish authorities’ attempts to circumvent the general application of certain new key rulings of the European Court.

In this conference, Turkish and international experts will discuss the current challenges in Turkey to promptly and fully implement the judgments of the Court and how to improve the execution of judgments in the Turkish national system:

– Justice Egbert Myjer, Former Judge at the European Court of Human Rights and Commissioner of the ICJ,
– Prof. Philip Leach, Professor of Human Rights Law at Middlesex University
– George Stafford, Director at European Implementation Network
– Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey Director, Human Rights Watch
– Kerem Altıparmak, ICJ Legal Consultant
– Ayşe Bingöl Demir, Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project Co-Director, Lawyer
– Prof. Başak Çalı, Professor of International Law, Co-Director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School

The event will be introduced and moderated by Feray Salman, General Coordinator of the Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP), Roisin Pillay, Director of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme, and Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme.<

TO REGISTER WRITE TO: ihop@ihop.org.tr

IHOPICJ-ZoomConference-ExecutionECtHRTurkey-Agenda-2020-ENG (download the agenda in English)

IHOPICJ-ZoomConference-ExecutionECtHRTurkey-Agenda-2020-TUR (download the agenda in Turkish)

The event is part of the REACT project: implemented jointly by ICJ and IHOP, this project seeks to support the role of civil society actors in turkey in ensuring effective access to justice for the protection of human rights. This project is funded by the European Union. The views expressed in the event do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the EU.

Turkey: Violence against women in the context of Istanbul Convention

Turkey: Violence against women in the context of Istanbul Convention

The International Commission of Jurists and the Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP) invite you to a Zoom workshop where Turkish and international experts will discuss the plight of violence against women in Turkey in light of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention.

To participate, please register by writing an email to ihop@ihop.org.tr (the Human Rights Joint Platform).

Join our great panel of speakers:

– Dame Silvia Cartwright, ICJ Commissioner, former Governor-General and High Court judge of New Zealand, former CEDAW member
– Prof. Dr. Feride Acar, former Member of CEDAW, former Chair of GREVIO
– Zuzanna Warso, Lawyer, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights of Poland
– Hülya Gülbahar, Women rights activist, Lawyer
– Nebahat Akkoç, Chair of KAMER Foundation
– Yasemin ÖZ, Lawyer, Kaos GL
– Feray Salman, General Coordinator of the Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP)
– Massimo Frigo, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser

IHOPICJ-ZoomConference-WomenAccess2Justice-Agenda-2020-ENG (download the agenda in English)

IHOPICJ-ZoomConference-WomenAccess2Justice-Agenda-2020-TUR (download the agenda in Turkish)

The event is part of the REACT project: implemented jointly by ICJ and IHOP, this project seeks to support the role of civil society actors in turkey in ensuring effective access to justice for the protection of human rights. This project is funded by the European Union. The views expressed in the event do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the EU.

Turkey: The legacy of the state of emergency for access to justice today

Turkey: The legacy of the state of emergency for access to justice today

The International Commission of Jurists and the Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP) invite you to a Zoom workshop where Turkish and international experts will discuss the legacy of the 2016-2018 state of emergency in Turkey for access to justice today.

To participate, please register by writing an email to ihop@ihop.org.tr (the Human Rights Joint Platform)

Join our great panel of speakers:

– Professor Sarah Cleveland, ICJ Commissioner
– Dr. Dilet Kurban, Hertie School
– Lawyer Ziynet Özçelik, Ankara Bar Association
– Dinçer Demirkent, Human Rights School
– Roisin Pillay, Director of ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme
– Kerem Altiparmak, ICJ Turkey Legal Adviser

The workshop will address how state of emergency measures, such as dismissals and closures of legal entities, still impact on the human right of people in Turkey today.

The experts will discuss whether the remedies set up by Turkish authorities are up to standard with Turkey’s international human rights law obligations.

IHOPICJ-ZoomWorkshop-StateofEmergency-Agenda-2020-ENG (download the agenda in English)

IHOPICJ-ZoomWorkshop-StateofEmergency-Agenda-2020-TUR (download the agenda in Turkish)

The event is part of the REACT project: implemented jointly by ICJ and IHOP, this project seeks to support the role of civil society actors in turkey in ensuring effective access to justice for the protection of human rights. This project is funded by the European Union. The views expressed in the event do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the EU.

Lebanon: ICJ seminar on collection and evaluation of evidence of sexual and gender-based violence

Lebanon: ICJ seminar on collection and evaluation of evidence of sexual and gender-based violence

From 27 to 28 October 2020, the ICJ, in collaboration with the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), held a seminar on recommended practice with respect to evidentiary standards in the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of sexual and gender-based violence offences in Lebanon.

Consultations held by the ICJ with the Lebanese authorities and with practitioners in July 2019 revealed the need to support and bolster the capacity of criminal justice system actors to effectively investigate, prosecute, adjudicate and sanction SGBV, prompting the ICJ, together with NCLW, to organize the seminar.

The seminar accordingly aimed to address the significant gaps in law and procedure and practical obstacles to ensuring key evidence be identified, collected and assessed in a manner consistent with international standards, including Lebanon’s obligations under international human rights law. It also aimed to provide a platform to connect Lebanese judges, prosecutors, police officers, lawyers, forensic practitioners and international experts, with a view to identifying solutions that will ensure women and girls’ effective access to justice for SGBV in Lebanon, in addition to accountability for, and protection from, SGBV.

The discussions predominantly focused on the international law and standards that apply to the identification, gathering, storing, admissibility, exclusion and evaluation of evidence in SGBV cases and how such standards may be used to fill gaps and strengthen domestic law and practice. Participants also discussed the adverse impact patriarchal and other harmful stereotypes have on investigation, prosecution and adjudication processes.

The seminar commenced with opening remarks from NCLW’s President and the International Commission of Jurists’ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. Speakers included practitioners from international and domestic courts and tribunals, as well as ICJ staff.

The seminar followed the publication of ICJ guidance and recommendations to criminal justice actors in its report Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Lebanon, published on 22 October 2020.

Informed by international law and standards, the ICJ will now formulate recommendations based on the identification by the seminar’s participants of the reforms needed with respect to the Lebanese framework and practice. These recommendations will be included in the ICJ’s forthcoming publication on evidentiary rules and recommended practices in cases of SGBV in Lebanon, which will be published and disseminated among practitioners in Lebanon.

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