Mar 20, 2015
The Court Proceedings in “Foreign Agents” cases report on trial observations analyses four cases concerning the implementation of the 2012 Amendments to the Russian NGO Law.
It is based on court hearings observed by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in 2013-2014 in each of these cases, as well as information provided by lawyers and NGOs in Russia.
The report assesses the compliance of the hearings the ICJ observed with the right to a fair hearing as guaranteed under international human rights instruments including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights or ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), treaties to which Russia is a party, and with which it is thus bound to comply.
The report focuses, in particular on some aspects in the proceedings which gave rise to concern that the right to a fair hearing was being breached.
Russian Federation-NGO Foreign Agents-Publications-Trial Observation Report-2015-ENG (full text in PDF)
Russian Federation-NGO Foreign Agents-Publications-Trial Observation Report-2015-RUS (full text in PDF)
Read also:
Russian Federation: report on the Constitutional Court proceedings and judgment on the “Foreign Agent” amendments to the NGO Law
Russian Federation: ICJ expresses concern at court judgment ordering registration as a foreign agent
Russia: amendments to the NGO Law on Foreign Agents violate rights to freedom of association and expression
Mar 19, 2015 | Advocacy, Legal submissions, News
The ICJ and Amnesty International have presented a submission on the draft of an Additional Protocol supplementing the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism.
In their submission, the ICJ and AI outlined before the Committee on Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Related Issues (COD-CTE) of the Council of Europe the general principles of human rights law related to the issue of foreign fighters and the implementation of Security Council resolution 2178(2014) and made observations on the draft criminal offences contained in the draft protocol.
The submission outlines positions and concerns with relation to:
- The lack of definition of central concepts like “terrorism”, “terrorist acts”, and “foreign fighters”
- The risk of introducing criminal offences lacking the clarity, accessibility and foreseeability required by the principle of legality
- The risk of conflation of of different legal regimes, notably of international humanitarian law and ordinary criminal law
- The need to investigate and prosecute existing crimes under international law
- The need to ensure that any criminalisation of acts or omissions must have a close connection to the commission of the principal criminal offence, with a real risk that such a principal criminal act would in fact take place
- Specific comments on the draft offences of participation in an association or group for the purpose of terrorism; receiving training for terrorism; travelling abroad for the purpose of terrorism; funding travelling abroad for the purpose of terrorism; organizing or otherwise facilitating travelling abroad for the purpose of terrorism.
CouncilofEurope-Submission-ForeignFighters-Advocacy-Legal Submission-2015-ENG (download the observations)
Mar 17, 2015 | Events, News
This side event will take place on Thursday 19 March 2015, 12.00-14.00, at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Room XXVII.
It aims at creating a space to discuss the EU agenda on Business & Human Rights, identifying current challenges and development, and exploring opportunities arising from the Treaty process.
Panelists:
Mons. Silvano Tomasi, Holy See, Permanent Observer
Mr. Jerome Bellion-Jourdan, Delegation of the European Union to the UN
Mrs. Elena Valenciano, European Parliament Sub-Committee on Human Rights, Chair
Mr. Richard Meeran, Leigh Day, Partner
Ms. Anne van Schaik, Friends of the Earth Europe, Economics and Justice Team
Moderation: Dr. Carlos Lopez, International Commission of Jurists, Senior Legal Adviser
Erope-Flyer side-event EU BHR perspectives-News-event-2015-ENG (ful text in PDF)
Mar 10, 2015
The ICJ, JUSTICE and NJCM have published their analysis of the proposed EU directive on the presumption of innocence, and made recommendations for amendments, to ensure its compliance with international human rights law.
The briefing paper welcomes the aim of the initiative of the Commission’s proposed directive, to protect both the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at trial in EU law. However, it notes there are some aspects of the Commission proposal that should be strengthened. The ICJ, JUSTICE and NJCM also raise concerns that some of the amendments proposed by the Council in its General Approach would unduly limit the rights guaranteed in the Directive, so that they offer less protection than that provided under international human rights law, including the ECHR, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
ICJJUSTICENJCM-Briefing-EU-PresumptionofInnocenceDirective-LegalIntervention-2015-ENG (download the legal briefing)
Mar 9, 2015
The ICJ, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the AIRE Centre submitted a thirty party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the immigration detention of a mother with her children in Poland.
The case, Dagmara Bilalova v. Poland, concerned the detention for purpose of deportation of a Russian citizen from Chechnya, Dagmara Bilalova, and her five children. According to the statement of facts of the case, Dagmara Bilalova was also allegedly subjected to domestic violence from her husband, who had been previously deported to the Russian Federation. She and her children were deported to the Russian Federation on 27 March 2014.
The three human rights organisations submitted observations on standards and principles of international and EU law regarding:
- the requirements for the compliance of administrative detention of non-national families with children, with article 5.1 of the ECHR, and with UN treaties, standards and jurisprudence in particular relating to the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- the international law, standards and jurisprudence applicable to the victims of domestic violence and their administrative detention in the framework of migration law and policies;
- EU, national and international law applicable to the identification and treatment of asylum seekers with special reception needs.
ECtHR-AmicusBrief-Bilalova v Poland-Advocacy-Legal Submission-2015-ENG (download the third party intervention)
