Universal Archives | Page 120 of 124 | International Commission of Jurists

World Summit for Social Development

Jan 1, 1995 | News

The betterment of the human condition is closely related to the protection of human dignity. A life full of human dignity requires certain minimum standards in the field of civil and political liberties as well as economic and social requirements.

Report of the Secretary-General on international and domestic measures taken to protect human rights and prevent discrimination in the context of HIV/AIDS, E/CN.4/1995/45, 22 December 1994

Dec 22, 1994

13. Secondly, individuals and groups in society who are disadvantaged and/or do not enjoy the full exercise of their rights are particularly vulnerable to infection as they have limited or no access to HIV/AIDS-related education, prevention and health-care programmes....

Jurists set principles on the media and the judiciary

Apr 1, 1994 | News, Publications

The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers have concluded a three-day seminar on the relationship between the media and the judiciary in Madrid.

The seminar is part of an on-going study on the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession.

Lawyers, judges and journalists from Spain and different regions of the world gathered in Madrid to focus on the relationship between the media and the judiciary. The object has been to draft principles destined to facilitate a relationship that would enhance both the necessity of a free press and the independence of the judiciary. The debate also concentrated on the right of the accused, especially minors, to privacy and the presumption of innocence.

Many different angles were taken into consideration. They included the impact of publicity on judicial proceedings, the emergence of increasingly global and transnational modes of communication and their impact on judicial procedures, the relation between ethics and judicial independence, the restraints which may be necessary for the proper administration of justice, media criticism of judges and judicial decisions as well as in-depth perspectives of these issues in countries such as Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Ghana, Jordan, India and Australia.

These principles fill a gap which is increasingly highlighted by the progress made in contemporary modes of dissemination of information. The principles are attached herewith.

madrid principles on media and judicial independence-publication-1994-eng (full text in English, PDF)

The Madrid Principles on the Relationship between the Media and Judicial Independence

Feb 1, 1994 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions

A group of 40 distinguished legal experts and media representatives, convened by the ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and the Spanish Committee of UNICEF, met in Madrid, Spain, between 18 – 20 January 1994.

The objectives of the meeting were

to examine the relationship between the media and judicial independence as guaranteed by the 1985 UN Basic Principles on the Independence of Judiciary;
to formulate principles addressing the relationship between freedom of the expression and judicial independence.

The Basic Principle is as follows:

Freedom of expression (including freedom of the media) constitutes one of the essential foundations of every society which claims to be democratic. It is the function and right of the media to gather and convey information to the public and to comment on the administration of justice, including cases before, during and after trial, without violating the presumption of innocence.
This principle can only be departed from in the circumstances envisaged in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as interpreted by the 1984 Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (U.N. Document E/CN.4/1984/4).
The right to comment on the administration of justice shall not be subject to any special restrictions.

The document contains the Principles, an Annex: Strategies for Implementation, the List of Participants at the Seminar and extracts from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and from the Syracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation Provisions in the ICCPR.

Madrid Principles Media Judicial Independence-non-legal submission-1994-eng (full text in English, PDF)