May 17, 2013 | News
On 16 May, the ICJ and Rechters voor Rechters (Judges for Judges) observed an appeal hearing at the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in a case against the dismissal of Judge Miroslava Todorova.
Judge Todorova, who had been serving on the Sofia City Court, is known for critical commentary on the problems in the judiciary in Bulgaria. In this hearing, the Prosecutor’s Office supported Judge Todorova’s appeal against her dismissal, but the Court has not yet issued its decision.
The ICJ previously raised concerns over Judge Todorova’s dismissal from her position of judge and as Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association, in July 2012. The ICJ was particularly concerned at the disproportionate sanctions for delay of several reasoned cases, which is a problematic, but usual, practice among judges in Bulgaria.
The ICJ also expressed concern at the fact that the proceedings took place some six years after the limitation period ended. Further questions arose as to the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the body which both initiated the proceedings and conducted the hearing, and its independence in this case.
The trial observation mission consisted of Professor Doctor Günter Witzsch (Germany), who observed the trial on behalf of the ICJ, and Judge Janneke Bockwinkel (the Netherlands, on behalf of Judges for Judges). The ICJ and Judges for Judges will continue to follow the case of the dismissal of Judge Miroslava Todorova and will issue a detailed report following the issuing of the decision by the SAC.
For further information
Róisín Pillay, Director of the Europe Programme, roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Temur Shakirov, Legal Adviser, Europe Programme, temur.shakirov(a)icj.org
Apr 24, 2013 | Feature articles, News
The three final nominees for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders are Mona Seif (Egypt), Joint Mobile Group (Russia) and Mario Joseph (Haiti). The ICJ is one of the ten members of the jury.
The Martin Ennals Award is given to Human Rights Defenders who have shown deep commitment and face great personal risk. The aim of the award is to provide protection through international recognition.
Selected by ten leading human rights organizations (ICJ, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation of Human Rights, Front Line Defenders, HURIDOCS, Diakonie – German Protestant Welfare, World Organization Against Torture and International Service for Human Rights) it is the world’s most important Human Rights Prize.
The 2013 Award will be presented on Oct. 8th at a ceremony hosted by the City of Geneva.
Mona Seif (Egypt) is the core founder of the” No To Military Trials for Civilians”, a grassroots initiative which is trying to stop military trials for civilians.
Since February 25, 2011, Mona has brought together activists, lawyers, victims’ families, local stakeholders and started a nationwide movement against military trials.
As part of the recent crackdown on the Freedom of Speech in Egypt she has been charged along with other Human Rights activists.
She noted that “International solidarity, and I mean people’s support not governments, empowers us to continue our battle and stop military trials for civilians“.
After the murder of several human rights activists working in Chechnya, Igor Kalyapin started the Joint Mobile Group. To reduce the risk they send investigators on short missions to Chechnya to document Human Rights abuses.
This information is then used to publicise these abuses to seek legal redress. Igor Kalyapin speaking of the effect of international publicity said “… when the international community is watching us it is more difficult for the authorities to take steps against us…”
Mario Joseph, Haiti’s most important Human Rights lawyer, has worked on some of the most important cases in Haiti, including the current case against the former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
His family received asylum in the United States in 2004, while he chose to return to Haiti. He has faced threats and harassment for much of his 20 years as a lawyer although it has intensified in recent months.
He says: “this recognition from the Ennals Award shines a vital spotlight on my work, and on the work of everyone who is fighting for human rights in Haiti. That spotlight will make our work safer and more effective.”
MEA-Short Summary-2013 (read the pdf)
MEA-MONA SEIF bio-2013 (read the pdf)
MEA-JOINT MOBILE GROUP bio-2013 (read the pdf)
MEA-MARIO JOSEPH bio-2013 (read the pdf)
Apr 23, 2013 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and Amnesty International presented a third party intervention in the case Abu Zubaydah v. Lithuania before the European Court of Human Rights.
In the third party intervention, the ICJ and AI outlined developments on the knowledge imputable to Contracting Parties at relevant times; on the obligations attached to principle of non-refoulement; on the duty to investigate credible allegations of human rights violations and other procedural obligations; and on the human rights violations that detainees previously held in the USA’s secret detention and rendition programmes are currently enduring.
Abu_Zubaydah_v_Lithuania-ICJAIJointSubmission-ECtHR-final (download the third party intervention)
Apr 12, 2013 | News
On Monday 15 April, the ICJ will hold a roundtable seminar with judges of the Russian Federation’s highest courts, on disciplinary action against judges in the Russian Federation.
Apr 8, 2013 | News
The ICJ today expressed its deep concern at the decision of the President of the Republic of Italy to pardon Colonel Joseph L. Romano III, following his conviction by an Italian court for complicity in the rendition of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar (photo).
“This pardon deals a serious blow to the rule of law and to accountability for CIA renditions and secret detentions, a system which involved torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary and secret detention and other serious crimes under international law,” said Massimo Frigo, Legal Adviser with the ICJ Europe Programme. “Italy stood honourably as the only country where an effective prosecution had been brought against CIA and Italian agents responsible for crimes under international law committed through the CIA rendition programme. This pardon deletes, in a single stroke of the pen, years of relentless efforts of prosecutors, investigators and lawyers to assure accountability for these crimes under international law.”
The ICJ emphasized that the pardon granted by the Italian President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, in his last weeks of office, defeats the efforts of the judiciary to uphold the State’s international law obligations to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for gross violations of human rights.
“By nullifying the effects of years of efforts of the Italian judicial system, this pardon seriously undermines Italy’s action against impunity and weakens the very foundations of the rule of law,” Frigo added. “The fact that the President of the Republic justified this action by raising the “peculiarity of the historical moment” of 9/11, thus suggesting that a kind of state of exception for the rule of law could have existed, is an unacceptable position under international law.”
The ICJ deeply regrets this decision of the President of the Republic to use his prerogative of pardon to prevent accountability for such an egregious violation of the rule of law in name of US-Italian diplomatic relations.
The ICJ condemns this pardon and stresses that it must not constitute a precedent and that other convictions in this case must not be nullified by pardons or amnesties. All European countries must uphold their duty fight against impunity for gross violations of human rights.
Any further circumvention of accountability for perpetrators of renditions or other gross human rights violations would only extend the cloak of impunity over the rule of law in Europe.
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, Legal Adviser, ICJ Europe Programme, massimo.frigo(a)icj.org
PR-Italy-RenditionPardon-2013-eng (english version)
PR-Italy-RenditionPardon-2013-ita (italian version)
