In a report released today on the trial of a Malaysian human rights lawyer representing the family of a youth who died in police custody, the ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers finds that the aim of the prosecution was to intimidate and harass him in his work as a lawyer.
The ICJ today expressed its shock at the vicious attacks by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the Italian judiciary, calling magistrates a “cancer that must be cured”.
The ICJ welcomed the Prosecution’s decision to withdraw charges against Fergus Blackie (photo), a retired Zimbabwean judge accused of corruption and obstructing the due administration of justice.
Former Judge Blackie was arrested in September 2002, two months after his retirement, and spent three nights in prison.
The former judge was facing charges after he acquitted a white woman accused of theft and sentenced the Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, to a three-month term of imprisonment for contempt of court. According to various national and international observers, the charges against Blackie, who is white, were politically and racially motivated. He was also seen as being too “independent”.
“The ICJ hopes this decision will be the beginning of full respect for human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe”, said Linda Besharaty-Movaed, Legal Advisor of the ICJ. “We believe this is just a small step in the right direction, however, more changes are needed. With the ongoing trials of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition party, who is accused of treason, and Judge Paradza, who is charged with corruption, the eyes of the international community will more than ever be on Zimbabwe”.
The ICJ sent a trial observer to monitor the trial of former Judge Blackie, however, charges were withdrawn prior to the hearing. The ICJ is also monitoring the trials of Morgan Tsvangirai and Judge Paradza.
Zimbabwe-charges judge-press release-2003-eng (full text, PDF)
The conviction of two lawyers and the proceedings against three other lawyers for refusing to appear before an unconstitutionally appointed judge constitute the most recent violation of the rule of law in Swaziland.
This report contains the findings of a Mission to Nepal sent by the ICJ’s Center for the Independence of the Judges and Lawyers.
The mission’s mandate was to examine the functioning of the administration of justice in Nepal, including the existing legal framework and actual practice, and to evaluate the effectiveness of judicial and administrative implementation of international standards.
The mission also sought to evaluate the impact of recent Nepalese law and practice on the fulfilment of Nepal’s international human rights obligations. Some of the particular areas of question and concern were whether there existed effective means to challenge unlawful or arbitrary detention, such as habeas corpus; the implications of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act (TADA) and other legislation used in context of countering the ongoing Maoist insurgency; the practice of torture of detainees by the authorities and the adequacy and effectiveness of means to prevent and remedy incidents of torture and other illtreatment; the extent to which judges were willing or able to carry out their professional functions independently and impartially; allegations of harassment of lawyers in the country, including cases of arbitrary detention and violent assault. The Mission also sought to gather information with a view to determining, on a preliminary basis, Nepal’s capacity building needs in the area of administration of justice.
Nepal-human rights and administration of justice-fact finding mission-2003-eng (full text in English, PDF)
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