The outbreak of a new wave of killings by ETA, the Basque armed separatist group, has led to increased pressure from public opinion on Judges and Magistrates in cases concerning ETA members or activists whose activities have been imputed to them.
A prosecution, with possible political overtones, was undertaken against the Chief Justice of Gibraltar for a minor traffic violation.
A general package to reform the judicial system has been under discussion since 1997. In June 2000, important legislation entered into force enhancing the presumption of innocence and the rights of victims.
Concern has arisen recently about the independence of the judiciary in Austria. An indicator of this concern was an open letter that was signed by two thirds of all judges and public prosecutors of the country.
Allegations have also been brought to light about attempts of certain politicians to influence the course of justice in ongoing trials.
The role played by the current Minister of Justice, Dieter Böhmdorfer, has also subject of some public debate.
Attacks on justice 2002-Austria-publications-2002 (full text, PDF)
The Annual Human Rights Law Conference, organised jointly by JUSTICE: the British Section of the ICJ and Sweet Maxwell, has become the central forum for analysing changes under the UK Human Rights Act. Each year, the conference provides an ideal opportunity to update UK legal practice with analysis from some of the most prominent practitioners and academics in this field.
Tunisia: Quash sham conviction and sentence of judges’ association President, Anas Hmedi
The UN Human Rights Council makes significant but limited progress in addressing human rights around the world, as atrocities multiply in the Middle East and elsewhere
ICJ hosts an African Regional Convening in Kenya on Transformative Equality Jurisprudence
Russian Federation: Arbitrarily detained human rights lawyer Maria Bontsler must be released