May 3, 2018
On 2 and 3 May 2018, the ICJ is holding a conference on the role of Tunisia’s Specialized Criminal Chambers (SCC) in addressing the legacy of gross human rights violations. The ICJ’s report, Achieving justice for gross human rights violations in Tunisia, was launched during the event.
The conference, held in cooperation with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and The National Independent Coordination for Transitional Justice (NICTJ), and organized in coordination with the Tunisia’s Ministry of Justice, High Judicial Council and Bar Association, aims to:
- Discuss the legal and factual requirements on the referral of cases by the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) to the SCC;
- Analyze and discuss the legal and practical obstacles that might impede the SCC’s work;
- Discuss the role of victims in criminal proceedings before the SCC;
- Identify recommendations to relevant authorities (including the High Judicial Council, the Ministry of Justice and the Bar Association) with a view to ensuring the effective administration of justice by the SCC in accordance with Tunisian domestic law and relevant international law and standards.
Four years after its establishment, the IVD transferred a first case on 2 March 2018, concerning 14 suspects and the crime of enforced disappearance, to the SCC. Three other cases were transferred since then.
While such referrals are a first step towards redress and accountability, numerous legal and practical obstacles may hinder the SCC’s capacity to deliver meaningful justice. In two memos addressing the jurisdiction and the procedures to be applied by the SCC, the ICJ identified such obstacles and formulated recommendations for amendments and reform.
Download the ICJ’s reports
Tunisia-GRA Baseline Study-Publications-Reports-Thematic reports-2018-ENG (full report in English, PDF)
Tunisia-GRA Baseline Study-Publications-Reports-Thematic reports-2018-ARA (full report in Arabic, PDF)
Further readings
Tunisia-Memo-on-SCC-Procedures-Advocacy-Analysis-Brief-2017-ENG-1 (Briefing Paper in English, July 2017)
Tunisia-Memo-on-SCC-Advocacy-Analysis-Brief-2016-ENG (Briefing Paper in English, November 2016)
Tunisia-Memo-on-SCC-Advocacy-Analysis-Brief-2016-ARA (Briefing paper in Arabic, November 2016)
Further references
Tunisia: appointment of constitutional court members must meet international standards (ICJ press release, 12 March 2018)
Tunisia: Specialized Criminal Chambers to hear enforced disappearance case, a first step towards accountability (ICJ press release, 6 March 2018)
Apr 12, 2018
Today the ICJ launched its report The Trial of Civilians by Military Courts in Venezuela (available only in Spanish).
The report analyzes the constitutional and legal framework of Venezuela’s military justice system, its structure, integration and scope of jurisdiction.
The report addresses the serious problems regarding the independence of the Venezuelan military justice system and the practice of prosecuting civilians by the military courts of that country, in light of international standards and the principles of the rule of law.
It also highlights the recommendations on the administration of justice by military courts that have been made to Venezuela by various international authorities charged with the protection of human rights, both within the United Nations and within the Inter-American System.
The report concludes that the Venezuelan military tribunals do not meet the necessary conditions for a fair administration of justice, including as provided by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In particular, it underscores that the trial of civilians by military courts constitutes a violation of the right to an independent, impartial and competent tribunal and is incompatible with international law and standards on the administration of justice.
Venezuela-Civiles Tribunales Militares-Publications-Reports-Thematic Reports-2018-SPA (Full report, in Spanish, in PDF)
Feb 8, 2018
The ICJ has today published a compilation of international human rights standards relevant to Traditional and Customary Justice Systems.
The compilation is being published as part of an ongoing project on the relationship between traditional and customary justice systems, including indigenous justice, and human rights, access to justice, and the rule of law.
Among the sources included in the compilation are global and regional treaty provisions, UN and other declarations, and the jurisprudence and recommendations of Committees and Special Procedures established by treaties and the UN Human Rights Council.
The sources are organised by themes including the rights of women, rights of children, the role of judges and lawyers and the administration of justice, the rights of indigenous peoples, and the rights of minorities.
The 2017 ICJ Geneva Forum of Judges and Lawyers brought together judges and lawyers from around the world to discuss traditional and customary justice systems, and the ICJ is currently planning for continuing work on the theme over the next three years with the aim of producing practical global legal and policy guidance to assist actors within traditional systems, actors within State justice systems, and others to best ensure that everyone enjoys their rights of access to justice and other human rights. A report of the Forum is also available.
Contact
Matt Pollard, Senior Legal Adviser, matt.pollard@icj.org
Universal-Trad Custom Justice Compil updated-Publications-2018-ENG (Full publication in PDF)
Cover Photo: Traditional leaders preside over a case in B-Court, Nyang Payam, Torit County, South Sudan. Photo Credit: UNDP South Sudan2016Angelique Reid ©2016 United Nations
Nov 2, 2017
National procedures for the selection of regional human rights court judges too often fail to meet standards of fairness, inclusiveness and transparency, a joint Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and ICJ report published today concludes.
The report makes recommendations aimed at ensuring that the best qualified candidates are selected as judges of regional human rights courts.
Regional human rights courts and commissions—including the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights—are essential safeguards for the rule of law.
Yet despite their importance, the process of selecting the judges and commissioners who sit on these bodies—how they are nominated, vetted, and ultimately selected—remains largely unknown and often shrouded in secrecy.
Coupled with broader political efforts to erode international judicial institutions, this secrecy underscores the pressing need to focus on strengthening these systems from within.
This report, Strengthening from Within, responds to that challenge.
It shines a light on the processes that states use to nominate and select human rights judges and commissioners.
By analyzing the nomination practices of 22 countries, the report documents the ways in which nomination procedures often fall short of the legal frameworks and international standards that should guide them.
It also identifies promising practices and offers recommendations for improvement grounded in experience.
An independent judiciary is essential to the rule of law: for national courts, procedures for judicial selection must be fair, transparent, and merit-based. As this report makes clear, the world’s international courts and tribunals are no different.
Universal-Strengthening from Within-Publications-Reports-2017-ENG (Full report in English, pdf)
Aug 22, 2017
La crisis política institucional en Venezuela ha llevado al colapso Estado de Derecho y ha obstaculizado gravemente la rendición de cuenta de los responsables de graves violaciones a los derechos humanos, concluyó la CIJ en un informe publicado hoy.
El informe de la CIJ Lograr justicia por graves violaciones a los derechos humanos en Venezuela constató que el gobierno de Presidente Nicolás Maduro han emprendido una sostenida campaña para tomar el control del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, suspender, con el apoyo del máximo órgano de justicia, los poderes constitucionales de la anterior Asamblea Nacional, arrogarse amplísimos poderes y subvertir el Estado de Derecho.
“El Estado de Derecho en Venezuela ha sido reemplazado por el ejercicio arbitrario del poder por el Ejecutivo,” dijo Alex Conte, coordinador de la Iniciativa Global de la CIJ sobre Reparación y Rendición de Cuentas.
“La Constitución no es respetada, el Poder Judicial no es independiente y la separación de poderes es inexistente,” agregó Conte.
El informe del CIJ concluye que la situación de los derechos humanos en Venezuela se ha deteriorado rápidamente en los últimos años, especialmente desde 2014.
Las ejecuciones extrajudiciales y arbitrarias, la práctica de la tortura y malos tratos, las detenciones arbitrarias y el juzgamiento de civiles por tribunales militares, así como la criminalización y persecución de toda forma de disidencia política y social se han incrementado vertiginosamente.
“El contexto político de extrema polarización y la ruptura del Estado de Derecho, así como la falta de independencia del Poder Judicial, han obstaculizado gravemente la rendición de cuenta de los responsables de graves violaciones a los derechos humanos. Las víctimas y sus familias han visto denegado su derecho a la justicia,” dijo Conte.
Esta situación ha sido exacerbada por la reciente destitución de la Fiscal General de la República, calificada por la CIJ como un acto políticamente motivado, violatoria de los estándares internacionales, y que elimina uno de los últimos controles institucionales del Poder Ejecutivo y destruye uno de los pocos destellos de esperanza para una poner fin a la impunidad por las violaciones a los derechos humanos.
La CIJ considera que la creación de una “Comisión de la Verdad” por la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente es preocupante, toda vez que existen grandes temores de que sea un instrumento manipulado políticamente para afianzar la impunidad del Ejecutivo y para silenciar a la oposición, en lugar de cumplir con el deber del Estado de investigar pronta y efectivamente las denuncias de graves violaciones a los derechos humanos.
“La arraigada situación de impunidad en Venezuela no puede ser superada sin el establecimiento de un Poder Judicial independiente que pueda abordar las violaciones a los derechos humanos, disuadir de futuras violaciones y ayudar restablecer el Estado de Derecho,” agregó Conte.
Contacto:
Alex Conte, Coordinador de la Iniciativa Global de la CIJ sobre Reparación y Rendición de Cuentas, t: +41 79 957 27 33, C.E.:alex.conte(a)icj.org
Federico Andreu Guzmán, Representante de la CIJ para Suramérica, C.E.: federico.andreu(a)icj.org
Venezuela-GRABaseline Study-Publications-Reports-Thematic reports-2017-SPA (informe en PDF)
