The Joint Sections of the Italian Court of Cassation recognised the direct applicability of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in the Italian legal system.
Allocution de Michèle Rivet, donnée lors de la Conférence Annuelle de l’Institut canadien d’administration de la justice, à Banff, du 13 au 17 octobre 2003.
The ICJ condemns the trial of a Russian laywer before a Military Court in Moscow.
The ICJ, member of the Jury of the Martin Ennals Foundation Award for Human Rights Defenders, announced today that Lida Yusupova has been selected as the winner of the 2004 Martin Ennals Award.
The ICJ demands the Russian authorities to immediately release a lawyer arrested on 24 October after police planted a firearm in his car.
Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin’s arrest and detention prevent him from representing relatives of one of the victims in the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings case.
“Planting evidence and arresting a person on that basis makes a mockery of the rule of law”, said Linda Besharaty-Movaed, ICJ Legal Advisor. “Trepashkin’s unlawful detention demonstrates that Russian lawyers can be arrested for discharging their professional duties”.
Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin was arrested on charges of “possession and transportation of an unlicensed firearm” after police officers openly threw a bag that contained a gun into his car.
In 2002, Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin worked as a consultant for a commission that investigated the 1999 bombings, which had been exclusively blamed on Chechen insurgents, and found that the Security Service had been complicit in the bombings.
Immediately after he presented his findings, the Military Prosecutor initiated proceedings against Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin for “disclosing classified information”. Even though he was indicted, his case laid dormant until September 2003, when a book reproduced some of his findings. Mikhail Ivanovich Trepashkin then won an indefinite postponement of the case from the Supreme Court.
Russia-lawyer arrest-press release-2003 (text, PDF)
From August 14 to 16, 2003, the ICJ held a first ICCPR training seminar for lawyers in Kyrgyzstan.
Human Rights Council concludes its 62nd session with action on country crises and key human rights challenges
Montenegro: Defence Minister must end campaign of intimidation against lawyer Veselin Radulovic
Thailand: Judges convene to advance a gender-responsive approach to justice, building on the Bangkok General Guidance
HRC62: Joint Statement Urging States to Act with Urgency to Protect Civilians in El Obeid