In recent years a number of conferences and seminars have been held in Europe and elsewhere with muslim and non-muslim participants in order to explain to non-muslims the concepts of human rights in Islam and, in particular, in Islamic law (Shari’a).
The ICJ held a Conference on Development and the Rule of Law in the Hague on 27 April—1 May 1981.
Basic working paper by Philip Alston following the conference on ‘Development and the rule of law’, held in The Hague, 27 April-1 May 1981.
This paper is designed to provide an overview of some of the main development issues with which the international human rights community has been attempting to grapple in recent years.
This paper includes:
Universal-rule of law development-working paper-1981-eng (full text in English, PDF)
Report by Hans Thoolen, former executive secretary of the ICJ, of the Symposium on the independence of judges and lawyers, November 28, 1980, Helsinki.
Best practice on how to ensure an independent judiciary. Hans Thoolen explains the creation of the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and defines the conditions of such independence.
international protection independence lawyers judges-seminar report-1981-eng (full text in English, PDF)
The activities of the International Commission of Jurists in the four years 1977-1980 have continued to be directed on the one hand to the positive promotion of human rights and their legal protection, and on the other to studying and publicising violations of human rights and the Rule of Law.
This report seeks to sumarise the main ICJ activities during these four years under a number of different headings. More detailed information on these and other topics will be found in the appendices.
It may be said that during this period the ICJ has taken a more structural approach to human rights problems, as will be apparent in particular from the regional seminars, the content of some of the special reports, and its activities pursuant to its consultative status (Appendix A).
ICJ-report on activities 1977 1980-annual report-1980-eng (full text in English, PDF)
HRC on Iran: the Council must condemn human rights violations by all parties to this conflict
Lao PDR: Addressing gaps in access to justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence
Libya’s UPR Outcome: ICJ Raises Concerns on Detention Abuses, Women’s Rights, and Migrants![Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon [Source: Al Jazeera]](https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-20-at-15.56.24-300x200.png)
Lebanon: Israel must immediately stop using unlawful mass displacement orders and inflicting terror on civilians