Oct 1, 2018 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ made submissions today to the European Court of Human Rights in support of the right of association of Azerbaijan’s lawyers representing applicants before the Court and highlighting the situation of harassment of the legal profession in the country.
The ICJ intervened today in the cases of Democracy and Human Rights Resource Centre v. Azerbaijan and Mustafayev and Democracy and Human Rights Resource Centre v. Azerbaijan.
In these cases, lawyer Asabali Mustafayev and its NGO challenged the compliance of the freezing of their assets and criminal proceedings for financial offences as arbitrary interferences with their work as human rights defenders and in representation of clients before the European Court of Human Rights itself.
The ICJ has intervened to highlight the case-law regarding the right to individual application before the Court under article 34 ECHR and its application to the work of lawyers and legal NGOs.
It further examined the systemic practice in Azerbaijan of harassment of lawyers and of NGOs established by lawyers for the purpose of providing legal advice or representation, including representation of applicants before the European Court of Human Rights.
Finally, the ICJ analyzed the implications of such practices with regard to the State’s obligations under article 18 ECHR read together with article 11 ECHR.
Azerbaijan-icj-DHRRC&other-Advocacy-legal submission-2018-ENG (download the submission)
“Defenseless Defenders: Systemic Problems in the Legal Profession of Azerbaijan” – ICJ report in Azeri, Russian and English.
Question to the parties: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-184179
Sep 26, 2018
Today, the ICJ has presented a third party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in Alayif Hasan oglu Hasanov v. Azerbaijan case.
In its submissions, the ICJ stresses that, while lawyers must perform their professional functions in conformity with ethical standards, the systems and procedures in respect of conditions of service, including in respect of admission to the profession and discipline, must not enforce such obligations in a way that impairs the exercise of human rights by lawyers or their capacity to effectively represent their clients.
The ICJ presented the submissions based on the jurisprudence of this Court as well as international standards governing the legal profession.
In particular, the submission addressed permissible restrictions of lawyers’ rights to respect for private (including professional) life under article 8 ECHR and to freedom of expression under article 10 ECHR, as well as the procedural safeguards required to apply such restrictions under article 6 ECHR.
Finally, the submission set out key findings of a recent ICJ fact-finding mission to assess the compliance of the governance of the legal profession in Azerbaijan with international law and standards.
Additional information:
Questions to the parties are available at http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-184367
“Defenseless Defenders: Systemic Problems in the Legal Profession of Azerbaijan” – ICJ report in Azeri, Russian and English.
Azerbaijan-ICJ submission to ECHR-legal submission-2018-ENG – Submission in English.
Sep 20, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today put the spotlight the lack of independence of the legal profession in Azerbaijan speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The statement, made during the consideration of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Azerbaijan, read as follows:
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the acceptance by Azerbaijan of the recommendations by France (140.70), by Greece (141.12), Austria (141.13), Estonia (141.68), Slovenia (141.71), and Mexico (141.77), to respect the rights of lawyers.
The ICJ regrets, however, that Azerbaijan only noted and did not explicitly support the recommendations by Sweden (141.33), USA (141.39), Czechia (141.67) and Germany (141.76) and rejected the recommendation by the United Kingdom (141.60) to “End all interference in the work of lawyers through disbarment or other disciplinary measures on improper grounds such as expressing critical views.”
These recommendations call for the amendment of the Law on Advocates and Advocates’ Activities to ensure the effective independence of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan. They also call for the setting up of independent and transparent mechanisms for lawyers’ admission to practice, and disciplinary proceedings against lawyers, in conformity with the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
The ICJ notes that Azerbaijan’s support of most recommendations is predicated on the assumption that the situation of the independence of the legal profession in Azerbaijan is in line with international law.
This, however, is not the situation in the country.
The ICJ expresses concern at the persistent lack of independence of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan; indeed, it has actually played a role in undermining the work of lawyers defending human rights. The situation is exacerbated by recent hasty reforms that prohibit lawyers from appearing in any court hearing unless they are members of this non-independent Bar association, furthermore without a sufficient and meaningful transition period. This seriously curtails access to justice for human rights violations in the country.
Sep 17, 2018 | Artículos, Noticias
La Corte de Constitucionalidad hizo pública ayer 16 de septiembre, su decisión de ordenar permitir el ingreso al país, del comisionado de la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad (CICIG), Iván Velásquez.
La CIJ celebra dicha decisión, ya que permitirá continuar el trabajo de la CICIG y de esta forma la decisión de la Corte de Constitucionalidad, logrará remover uno de los obstáculos más apremiantes, impuestos por el propio Presidente de la República, para el cumplimiento de las obligaciones internacionales del Estado de Guatemala, contenidas en el Acuerdo Internacional de Derechos Humanos que crea dicha comisión.
Con respecto a los recursos de amparo que buscan dejar sin efecto la decisión del Presidente de la República de no prorrogar el mandato de la CICIG, la Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) decidió no otorgar el amparo provisional y, por lo tanto, los procesos deberán continuar hasta su resolución final.
Para el efecto, la CIJ insta a la Corte de Constitucionalidad, a respetar los plazos legales y resolver finalmente los recursos de amparo, conforme los principios, costumbre internacional y normas del Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos.
La CIJ reitera que el no prorrogar el mandato de la CICIG, también podría causar un grave daño a la justicia y ser un obstáculo definitivo para el cumplimiento de las obligaciones internacionales del Estado de Guatemala, de combatir la impunidad.
Con respecto al diálogo que deberá continuar para resolver las diferencias, según el artículo 12 del Acuerdo Internacional de Derechos Humanos citado, la CIJ considera que es necesario incorporar a dicho diálogo, al Procurador de los Derechos Humanos y a la Sociedad Civil organizada, que fueron precisamente quienes propusieron la creación de tan importante comisión.
Uno de los puntos fundamentales a analizar entre todos los actores involucrados, entre otros temas, es si las entidades estatales nacionales ya están suficientemente fortalecidas y capacitadas para continuar la lucha contra la impunidad, sin el apoyo de la CICIG.
La CIJ considera que para seguir impulsando acciones eficientes en la lucha contra la corrupción e impunidad, es de vital importancia suspender los efectos de la decisión gubernamental, de no prorrogar el mandato de la CICIG.
De esta forma, se dará mayor confianza y viabilidad al diálogo entre todas las partes sobre el futuro de la CICIG; además, de esta forma se protegerán los derechos de la población guatemalteca.
Ramón Cadena, Director de la Comisión Internacional de Juristas para Centroamérica expresó: “Falta revertir la decisión del Presidente Jimmy Morales de no prorrogar el mandato de la CICIG. De esta forma, quedarán removidos todos los obstáculos impuestos a la CICIG y se contribuirá al fortalecimiento del Estado de Derecho en el país.”
Sep 17, 2018 | News
On 16 September, the Constitutional Court made public its decision to order that the Commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity (CICIG) Iván Velásquez be permitted to re-enter the country.
For more than a decade, the UN-backed CICIG has helped investigate high-profile officials for corruption.
Under the tenure of head commissioner Ivan Velasquez, the CICIG has helped Guatemalan prosecutors investigate and prosecute many high-level politicians, judges and government officials, including former president Otto Perez Molina and members of his cabinet.
Elected in 2015, current President Jimmy Morales initially supported the CICIG but he himself and other family members have become subjects of investigations into illegal campaign financing. They deny all charges.
President Morales declared on 31 August that he would not renew the mandate of the CICIG which is due to expire in September 2019 and then proceeded to ban Commissioner Velasquez from re-entering the country.
This decision sparked a number of protests including legal challenges in the Constitutional Court.
“The decision by the Constitutional Court should permit the CICIG to continue its work. It removes one of the greatest obstacles, imposed by order of Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales himself, to the fulfilment of Guatemala’s international obligations, as enshrined in the International Accord on Human Rights which created the Commission,” said Ramon Cadena, ICJ Director for Central America.
With respect to the amparo lawsuits which sought an injunction to reverse the the decision of the President Morales not to renew the mandate of the CICIG, the Constitutional Court declined to order provisional measures and therefore these legal proceedings will continue until they are determined in court.
“The ICJ urges the Constitutional Court to respect the legal time limits and to make a final decision on the lawsuit, in compliance with international human rights law and standards.
If the mandate of the CICIG were not renewed, it would seriously affect access to justice and constitute a major obstacle to the fulfilment of Guatemala’s international obligation to combat impunity,” Ramon Cadena added.
