Nov 22, 1994 | News
The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers condemns the assassination of attorney Eugene Tan and his driver, Mr. Eddie Constantino.
The ICJ takes note of the Order issued by the President of the Philippines, President Ramos, to all law enforcement agencies to investigate the murders and to effect an arrest within the week.
Attorney Eugene Tan was a human rights lawyer, and the former National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
On 14 November 1994, Attorney Eugene Tan and his driver, Mr. Eddie Constantino were kidnapped at gunpoint at about 7:30 in the evening near his residence, in Metro Manila. The kidnap was not announced publicly until the two bodies were later found. The car was found later in the evening at Holiday Village, Imus, Cavite.
On 18 November 1994, the bodies of both Attorney Eugene Tan and Mr. Constantino were found in Sitio Barangay Sampaloc, Cavite – south of Metro Manila. Both bodies bore signs of torture and strangulation. Several gun shots and stab wounds were evident on the bodies, as well.
The autopsy reports indicate that both were handcuffed when shot, and that Attorney Tan had 5 to 6 broken ribs. Reports attribute the cause of the death of Attorney Tan to a gun shot wound to the right temple of the head. The type of firearm used is not yet determined.
The reasons for the assassination are not yet clear. The ICJ calls on the Government of the Philippines to thoroughly investigate the assassination and to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice, and to guarantee the protection of human rights activists in the Philippines.
Nov 22, 1994 | News
This report published today is the outcome of an ICJ mission to the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and to Japan in April 1993 to study the issue.
The report documents the circumstances in which “sexual services” were forcibly obtained from Korean and Filipino women by the Japanese army before and during World War II. It contains the poignant testimonies of former “comfort women” who have had the courage to reveal their ordeal to the world. It also examines the legal responsibility of the present Japanese government towards these women whose numbers range between 100,000 and 200,000 and what steps must be taken to rehabilitate them.
The report is written by Ms. Ustinia Dolgopol, Lecturer at the School of Law, The Flinders University of South Australia and Ms. Snehal Paranjape, an Advocate of the Bombay High Court, India. They interviewed over 40 victims, three former soldiers, government representatives, NGOs, lawyers, academics and journalists.
The ICJ report finds that the Japanese Imperial Army was responsible for the setting up of a vast network of “comfort stations” for the “enjoyment” of the Japanese Army, before and during World War II. Chinese, Dutch, Filipino, Indonesian, Korean, Malaysian, Taiwanese and other women and girls, often as young as 13, were thrown into these “comfort stations” and “sexual services” were extracted from them through unimaginable violence and cruelty. The Japanese military was fully responsible for the setting up, use, operation and control of the “comfort stations.” Detailed regulations – which are reproduced in the Report – were framed by it in this regard.
This report urges the Government of Japan to take immediate steps to provide full rehabilitation and restitution to the victims as it is clear that it bears a moral and legal obligation towards them. It also contains a list of recommendations as to how this should be done.
The report is available at the ICJ Secretariat in Geneva.
Jan 18, 1994 | News
A three-day seminar on the Media and the Judiciary organized by the ICJ opens today in Madrid, Spain.
Apr 1, 1993
For lawyers to be able to perform these crucial functions, they should be protected from improper interference. They should be able to organize themselves in free and independent bar associations. Law should embody adequate safeguards to allow them to function.
This second volume of the CIJL Yearbook concentrates on the role of lawyers in protecting human rights. It uses the 1990 UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers as a standard. These twenty-nine Basic Principles focus on the following issues:
- provisions for effective access to legal assistance for all groups within society;
- the right of the accused to counsel and legal assistance of their own choosing; $
- education of the public on the role of lawyers in protecting fundamental rights and liberties;
- training and qualifications of lawyers; the role of governments, bar associations, and other professional associations;
- the right of lawyers to undertake representation of clients or causes without fear of repression or persecution; and
- lawyers’ obligation to keep communications with clients confidential, including the right to refuse to give testimony on such matters
The second issue of the CIJL Yearbook contains:
Editorial, by Mona A. Rishmawi
Foreword, by P.N. Bhagwati
I. Articles
- Legal Guarantees on the Role of Lawyers in Protecting Human Rights: The Indian Experience, by F.S. Nariman
- Safeguards for Legal Independence in Egypt: Between Law and Practice, by Ahmad Nabeel El-Helali
- The Independence of Lawyers Under Belgian Law, by Pierre Lambert
- Cambodia: The Courts and the Constitution: A Point of View, by Basil Fernando
II. Reports
- The Bar Council of England and Wales Human Rights Committee First Annual Report 1992
CIJL Yearbook- legal protection of lawyers-II-1993-eng (full text in English, PDF)
CIJL Yearbook- legal protection of lawyers-II-1993-fra (full text in French, PDF)
CIJL Yearbook- legal protection of lawyers-II-1993-spa (full text in Spanish, PDF)
Jan 1, 1993
The position of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the legal order of the European Communities has been the subject of debate among legal scholars and politicians for at least 25 years.
One solution could be the adoption of a specific Community Charter of Human Rights. Another – a complementary approach – would be to make use of existing international instruments for the protection of human rights. As far back as 1979, the Commission of the European Communities proposed that the EC accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a proposal which was repeated in a Notice of November 1990.
With this position paper, the ICJ hopes to make a contribution to the current debate on accession of the Communities to the ECHR. Therefore, the scope of this paper will be limited to the protection of civil and political rights…
Europe-European Communities accession ECHR-position paper-1993-eng (full text in English, PDF)
