The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes today’s judgment of the European Court of Human Rights holding that the Polish Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber is not a legitimate tribunal established by law due to impermissible political interference in the appointment of its judges by the Executive and Legislative powers.
On 9 July 2021, the ICJ, along with other civil society organizations, submitted a legal brief to the Bangkok Court of Appeal in the appeal by 13 trade union leaders of the State Railway Union of Thailand against their conviction on neglect of official duties charges arising from their involvement in a national rail safety campaign in the aftermath a fatal train accident in October 2009.
The ICJ recently submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Manuela v. El Salvador.
The ICJ’s written submissions to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights focused on the right to respect for and protection of information about one’s health under both the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, the ICJ observed that the right to private life guarantees respect for and protection of information about one’s health, such as personal and medical data, including relating to an abortion, to one’s sexual life and references to one’s health treatment.
For more information about the case, see https://reproductiverights.org/press-room/inter-american-commission-human-rights-filed-case-manuela-vs-el-salvador-inter-american
Salvador-Manuela amicus brief-Advocacy-legal submission.2021-ENG (Amicus brief in PDF, English)
Salvador-Manuela amicus brief-Advocacy-legal submission.2021-SPA (Amicus brief in PDF, Spanish)
The CORE Coalition and the ICJ have jointly submitted evidence as interveners in a landmark case before the UK Supreme Court brought by some 40,000 people from the Ogale and Bille communities of the Niger Delta (Nigeria) against oil major Royal Dutch Shell (Okpabi et al vs Royal Dutch Shell et al) for serious harm to their human rights and well-being.
On 23 June, the Supreme Court will consider whether Shell can arguably be held liable for pollution caused by its Nigerian subsidiary, which destroyed farming land, wiped out fish stocks and poisoned drinking water. In 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled that Shell did not exercise enough control over the subsidiary to hold it responsible for the well-being of those affected by the oil spills.
This is the latest stage in a four-year legal action brought by communities seeking compensation for the catastrophic environmental damage caused by widespread oil spills.
The CORE and ICJ submission sets out the applicability of comparative law and standards regarding companies’ responsibilities in relation to human rights and environmental protection. These show that Royal Dutch Shell PLC (Shell) had a duty of care in relation to the communities affected by its Nigerian subsidiary’s activities.
In 2019, CORE and the ICJ made a similar submission to the UK Supreme Court in a case brought by Zambian communities against mining giant Vedanta.
In a groundbreaking decision allowing the case to proceed, the Court ruled that companies can be held to account for public commitments regarding their subsidiaries’ operating standards.
Both CORE and the ICJ have been lead participants in the elaboration processes of all major international instruments in the field of businesses’ human rights responsibilities in the last decade.
Nigeri-Okpabi-Advocacy-Legal submission-2020-ENG (full submission in PDF)
On 16 April 2020, the ICJ and other NGOs submitted a third-party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights in the case Lapunov v. Russia (Application No. 28834/19). It concerns a Russian man, who argues that he was tortured during a crackdown on LGBTI people in Chechnya.
He alleges that his case was not properly investigated by Russian authorities.
In its submissions to the Court the ICJ, the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe), the Advice on Individual Rights in Europe (The AIRE Centre), Fédération Internationale des ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH) and REDRESS argued that the identity of the victim of violence as an LGBTI person should be taken into account in the assessment of any violations of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The submission can be found here: Russia-Lapunov v Russia-Advocacy-Legal submissions-2020-ENG
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