Russian Federation: Court structure
Russia has a two-tiered court system with federal courts, and regional courts (or ‘courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation’).{{1}} The federal courts are:{{2}} Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation; First and second instance courts in the subjects of...
Statement on judiciary in Russian Federation, and individual cases in Venezuela and Swaziland
The ICJ today made an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council, in the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, responding to her report on her visit to the Russian Federation.
Upholding the freedom of assembly and association of LGBTI persons
The ICJ, together with the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and on behalf of ARC International, today delivered an oral statement to the Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly and association.
The report of the Special Rapporteur addressed challenges faced by groups at risk, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
The statement welcomed the report by the Special Rapporteur.
It referred to the Nigerian Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (which in fact criminalizes a much broader range of human rights-protected activities than its title would necessarily suggest), Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, and Ukraine’s draft law on “propaganda of homosexual relations”. All of these laws impede freedom of peaceful assembly of LGBTI persons. The Nigerian law also interferes with freedom of association, as it bans registration, funding and activities of “gay” organizations.
It also referred to Russia’s ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”.
It emphasised the detrimental impact of such laws on the work of LGBTI human rights defenders and the activities of health care providers. It stressed that laws directly targeting the freedom of peaceful assembly or association of LGBTI individuals solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are inconsistent with international human rights law.
UN-HRC26-AssociationLGBTI-OralStatement-advocay-non legal submission-2014 (full text in pdf)
The report of the Special Rapporteur is available here.
Russian Federation: Judges
It is fundamental to the rule of law, to the right to a fair trial, the right to liberty and security of person, and to the right to effective remedy for violations of human rights, that individual judges and the judiciary as a whole must be independent and...Recent News
HRC59: ICJ Statement in the interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Venezuela – addressing arbitrary detention and repression of civic space27 Jun 2025
HRC59: Joint statement during interactive dialogue on Myanmar – addressing ongoing atrocity crimes and the collapse of judicial independence27 Jun 2025
HRC59: Joint statement during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Belarus – condemning repression of lawyers and the erosion of judicial independence26 Jun 2025
HRC59: Joint statement in defense of the International Criminal Court – condemning U.S. sanctions and political interference25 Jun 2025