International Commission of Jurists
ICJ list of issues submission on Venezuela to UN Human Rights Committee

ICJ list of issues submission on Venezuela to UN Human Rights Committee

Jul 25, 2014

The ICJ today submitted to the Human Rights Committee information in preparation for the Committee’s examination of the fourth periodic report of Venezuela under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

During its session in October 2014, the Human Rights Committee will adopt a List of Issues for the examination in July 2015 of the fourth periodic report of the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela under the ICCPR. In a joint submission with the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association, the ICJ raised issues and suggested questions to be put to the Government of Venezuela concerning:

  • Current practices for the appointment and removal of judges that undermine the independence and impartiality of the courts;
  • Inadequate guarantees for lawyers that impede their ability to defend and uphold the rights of their clients; and
  • Lack of safeguards for the proper discharge of prosecutorial functions that negatively affect the role of prosecutors in respecting and protecting human rights.

This submission was based on the more detailed findings in recent reports of the ICJ and the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association.

Venezuela-HRCtteeLOI-ICJandIBAsubmission-2014 (download  submission to the Human Rights Committee, in PDF)

Go to ICJ webpage on report on key deficiencies in the Venezuelan legal system

Go to IBA webpage on need for reform of Venezuelan justice system

ICJ responds to concerns about interference with integrity and independence of the judiciary in Canada

ICJ responds to concerns about interference with integrity and independence of the judiciary in Canada

Jul 23, 2014

The ICJ today replied to lawyers and legal academics regarding concerns expressed about statements by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice in Canada concerning Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin, in the context of the appointment of Justice Marc Nadon to the Supreme Court.

On 9 May 2014, the ICJ received expressions of concern from lawyers and legal academics in Canada. It wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office at the end of May seeking any information or views from the Government of Canada on this matter. In the absence of a reply from the Office of the Prime Minister, the ICJ set out its understanding of the relevant facts based on information provided to it and made publicly available.

The ICJ’s reply to the group of lawyers and legal academics describes relevant provisions of international human rights instruments on the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law and analyses the facts in relation to those international standards. The ICJ concluded that the criticisms of the Chief Justice by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice were not well-founded and amounted to an encroachment on the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of the Chief Justice.

Canada-JudicialIndependenceAndIntegrity-CIJL-OpenLetter-2014 (download ICJ analysis and conclusions in PDF)

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