Jan 17, 2020
The 19 January 2020 Berlin Peace Conference should prioritize accountability for crimes under international law committed in Libya and ensure that any resulting Political Agreement (PA) lays the foundations for the rule of law to be established and for human rights to become firmly entrenched in Libya, the ICJ said today.
Upholding of international human rights and humanitarian law is one of the six baskets of activities provided for by the Berlin process to end the conflict in Libya.
The other baskets relate to the Libyan-led political process; the implementation of the arms embargo, security and economic reform; and, most immediately, securing a ceasefire.
Earlier this week, efforts to end nine months of armed conflict between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the National Libyan Army (LNA) failed to materialize, with the LNA leader refusing to sign a ceasefire.
“The Berlin Conference must send an unequivocal message to all parties that impunity will not be the price of peace,” said Said Benarbia, the ICJ’s MENA Programme Director.
“Peace can only be achieved when State officials and members of armed groups responsible for past and ongoing human rights atrocities are held to account, and when the States that have systematically violated the United Nations-imposed arms embargo are also held to account,” Benarbia added.
The ICJ calls on all those involved in the Berlin process to ensure that any resulting PA include provisions on the right to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, including commitment to institutional reforms to secure accountability and victims’ rights.
The process should also support calls by civil society organizations, the UN Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Libya, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the establishment of an accountability mechanism for Libya at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council.
“Accountability is a key, not an obstacle to the establishment of the rule of law in Libya,” said Kate Vigneswaran, the ICJ’s MENA Programme Senior Legal Adviser.
“The Berlin Conference should support the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism with a mandate to document human rights violations and abuses in the country, identify those responsible for them, and collect and preserve evidence for use in future criminal proceedings,” she added.
In a briefing published today, the ICJ also urged all parties involved in the Berlin process to ensuring that any resulting PA provide: for armed and security forces to be subordinated to civilian authorities; for any process of integrating officials and members of armed groups in the State’s armed and security forces to be conducted through adequate vetting standards and processes; for the right of all Libyans to participate in the conduct of public affairs to be enshrined and fully complied with; for the independence and accountability of the judiciary and the Office of the General Prosecutor to be secured; and for universally recognized human rights to be protected in Libya’s Constitution and laws.
Contact
Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Kate Vigneswaran, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, t: +31624894664, e: kate.vigneswaran(a)icj.org, twitter: @KateVigneswaran
Libya-ICJ recommendations-Advocacy-Analysis brief-2020-ENG (full briefing paper, in PDF)
Dec 11, 2019
Today, the ICJ released Practical Guide 1 on the adjudication of crimes under Tunisian and international law, the first guide in a four-part series on accountability for crimes under international law and the Tunisian Specialized Criminal Chambers (SCC).
Practical Guide 1 addresses the application of Tunisian law governing the penalization of crimes and modes of liability, in relation to international law and standards.
The SCC were established in 2014 to adjudicate cases involving alleged “gross human rights violations” between 1955 and 2013 referred by the Truth and Dignity Commission.
“Tunisia has obligations under international law to ensure justice for victims and combat impunity for the egregious human rights violations that were committed in the past,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ MENA Programme Director.
“International law is directly relevant to the work of the SCC, particularly since the gross human rights violations over which the SCC have jurisdiction are either not defined in domestic law or are defined inconsistently with the definitions under international law binding Tunisia,” he added.
The Practical Guide sets out relevant international law and correlates it to related provisions of Tunisian law.
The Guide examines the principles of legality and non-retroactivity under international law and their application in the domestic system, and conducts an analysis of the definition of crimes under domestic law vis-à-vis international law for arbitrary deprivations of life, arbitrary deprivations of liberty, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, rape and sexual assault and crimes against humanity.
Although the transitional justice framework governing the SCC gives judges some tools to remedy the gaps and inconsistencies in domestic law, legislative reform is needed to ensure Tunisia is in compliance with its obligation to penalize crimes under international law and investigate, prosecute and remedy them whenever they are committed, whether pre- or post-2011.
“Tunisian legislators gave the SCC the mandate to adjudicate gross human rights violations but haven’t remedied all the gaps and inconsistencies in the domestic law the SCC were tasked with applying,” said Valentina Cadelo, ICJ MENA Programme Associate Legal Adviser.
“Tunisian authorities must now take steps to reform the law to guarantee that all perpetrators of gross human rights violations can be held criminally responsible in any Tunisian court,” she added.
Practical Guide 1 aims to:
- Explain international law relevant to the SCC, including the application of the principles of legality and non-retroactivity, statutory limitations and crimes under international law, to guarantee justice for victims of gross human rights violations and hold perpetrators accountable, while meeting international fair trial standards.
- Correlate domestic definitions of crimes with the definitions of crimes under international law applicable at the time the alleged conduct occurred.
- Describe the requirement that penalties applied upon conviction be based in law and correspond to the gravity of the crimes.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41.22.979.3817, e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Valentina Cadelo, ICJ Associate Legal Adviser, t: +21671962287, e: valentina.cadelo(a)icj.org , twitter: @ValentinaCadelo
Download
Tunisia-Accountability series-Publications-Reports-Thematic reports-2019-ENG (full report in English, PDF)
Tunisia-Accountability series-News-2019-ARA (full story in Arabic, PDF)
Tunisia-Accountability series-Publications-Reports-Thematic reports-2019-ARA (full report in Arabic, PDF)
Dec 4, 2019
Today, the ICJ joined seven other non-governmental organizations calling on States to establish a Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism for Libya at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council from February to March 2020.
The mechanism should document human rights violations and abuses, identify those responsible for them, preserve evidence for use in future criminal proceedings, and publicly report on the human rights situation in the country.
“Impunity reigns in Libya and, without an overhaul of the criminal justice system, future investigations or prosecutions are unlikely to be effective,” said Said Benarbia, the ICJ’s MENA Programme Director.
“As negotiations for a ceasefire and political solution to the conflict in Libya continue, States cannot keep on ignoring accountability for the egregious human rights violations and abuses committed in the country,” he added.
In July this year, the ICJ released a report – Accountability for Serious Crimes Under International Law in Libya: An Assessment of the Criminal Justice System – which found that the legal framework in Libya does not meet international standards governing the rights to liberty and to a fair trial of detained or accused persons, or the rights of victims to a remedy and reparation.
Crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed by State and non-State actors on a widespread scale in Libya, are not penalized under domestic law at all. The definitions of crimes such as torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and rape are also inconsistent with those under international law.
“While the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Libya since 2011, it is not a panacea for all crimes perpetrated in the country, nor can it contribute to the development of viable institutional and legislative reforms needed for human rights and the rule of law to take root,” said Kate Vigneswaran, the ICJ’s MENA Programme Senior Legal Adviser.
At the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council, Kate Gilmore, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Ghassan Salame, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), called for the establishment of an international body to investigate violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Libya.
“States have been relegating accountability in Libya, purportedly in the interests of peace, for far too long, an approach that has continually proven to yield little in the way of a political solution or the cessation of human rights violations and abuses against the many thousands of victims. States should take heed of the SRSG and Deputy High Commissioner’s statements,” said Vigneswaran.
Other signatories to the joint letter are Amnesty International, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the International Federation for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Lawyers for Justice in Libya, the Libya Platform, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Contact:
Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Kate Vigneswaran, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, t: +31624894664, e: kate.vigneswaran@icj.org, twitter: @KateVigneswaran
Libya-Letter to HRC-Advocacy-open letters-2019-ENG (open letter in English, PDF)
Libya-Open letter HRC_News-press release-2019-ARA (press release in Arabic, pdf)
Libya-Letter to HRC-Advocacy-open letters-2019-ARA (open letter in Arabic, PDF)
Photo credit: Image by European Commission DG ECHO
Nov 27, 2019
Tunisian authorities must ensure that the process of developing and adopting a Judicial Code of Ethics and Judicial Conduct in the country is inclusive and transparent, said the ICJ in a briefing paper released today in Tunis.
The Code must also align with international standards and be effectively and independently implemented to secure judicial independence and accountability, the memo Tunisia: Judicial Conduct and the Development of a Code of Ethics in Light of International Standards (available in English and Arabic), adds.
In the paper, the ICJ recommends the adoption of a clear, transparent and inclusive procedure for developing and adopting the Judicial Code, and for its content to conform to the UN-endorsed Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.
“Adopting a Code of Ethics and Judicial Conduct is a unique opportunity for Tunisian authorities to bolster judicial independence and restore public confidence in judicial institutions,” said Saïd Benarbia, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the ICJ.
“The authorities should get both the process and the content right, and ensure that such a code provides detailed guidance to judges on what kind of conduct is expected of them,” he added.
The adoption of a Code of Ethics has the potential to remedy the shortcomings of the current legal framework on judicial independence and accountability.
Organic Law No. 67-29 on the Judiciary, the High Judicial Council and the Statute for Judges, even as modified by Organic Law No. 2013-13, does not adequately or sufficiently provide for the guarantees to uphold judicial individual independence, the criteria and procedures for recusal or disqualification, or the need to avoid use of one’s office for private gain.
This is particularly problematic given that the current disciplinary procedures are inconsistent with international standards and best practices for judicial independence and impartiality, including because of the role of the Minister of Justice in initiating such procedures.
Against this background, the ICJ calls on the Tunisian authorities to:
- Ensure that the Judicial Code is established in law as the basis on which judges will be held to account professionally;
- Ensure that the principles of independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality, competence and diligence are clearly incorporated in the Judicial Code of Ethics in accordance with the Bangalore Principles and other relevant international standards;
- Amend Organic Law No. 67-29 to ensure that judges in Tunisia enjoy personal immunity from civil suits for monetary damages for improper acts or omissions in the exercise of their judicial functions; instead, in appropriate cases, persons who suffer losses as a result of such improper acts or omissions should be able to make a claim for compensation against the State itself;
- Ensure that the law and the Judicial Code clearly and precisely define the forms of misconduct that may lead to a judge’s discipline;
- Provide, in a manner consistent with independence of the judiciary, for individual judges to be held responsible, through disciplinary or criminal proceedings or both as appropriate, for perpetration of or complicity in violations of human rights, international humanitarian law and for judicial corruption; in this regard clearly prescribe the offences that could give rise to disciplinary liability for such acts or omissions, in line with international law and standards; and
- Ensure, in defining grounds for disciplinary action, that the fundamental rights and freedoms of judges are upheld and respected.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41.22.979.3817, e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Additional information
ICJ Commissioner Martine Comte led the delegation that met with different Tunisian authorities and justice actors this week in Tunis in order to present ICJ’s memo and discuss its findings and recommendations. The ICJ delegation met with Mr. Youssef Bouzeker, President of the Tunisian High Judicial Council, and other senior officials of the Tunisian Ministry of Justice and of the Tunisia Bar Association.
Tunisia-Code of Ethics-Advocacy-Analysis Brief-2016-ENG (full paper, in PDF)
Tunisia-judicial code-news-press release-2019-ARA (full story, Arabic version, in PDF)
Tunisia-Code of Ethics-Advocacy-Analysis Brief-2016-ARA (full paper, Arabic version, in PDF)
Nov 22, 2019 | News
On 20 November 2019, the ICJ and Tineke Strik, Member of the European Parliament, hosted a roundtable discussion in Brussels on the ICJ’s report Accountability for Crimes under International Law in Libya: An Assessment of the Criminal Justice System.
Panelists called for the establishment of a Human Rights Council mandated Commission of Inquiry on Libya and for States to refrain from entering or implementing agreements that could give rise to support for or complicity in violations of international law.
They also called for the intensification of monitoring of Libyan Coast Guard operations and publication of its key findings, and for the European Commission to ensure its cooperation with Libyan authorities is conditional on meeting concrete, verifiable and timebound benchmarks.
At the launch, Said Benarbia and Kate Vigneswaran, MENA Programme Director and Senior Legal Adviser respectively, discussed the findings and recommendations of the ICJ’s report examining the criminal justice framework in Libya. The report finds that investigations and prosecutions of crimes under international law have been limited to a handful of cases, and substantial reforms to the legal framework are required to ensure fair and effective justice in future cases.
In light of the report’s findings, Marwa Mohammed, Head of Advocacy and Outreach for Lawyers for Justice in Libya, discussed the arbitrary detention of thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya, systematic human rights violations and abuses being committed against them, and absence of options for protection, repatriation and return, including as a result of EU States’ policies.
Philippe Dam, Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch, then discussed the engagement of the EU, European Commission and EU States with Libyan authorities, including in the context of violations and abuses committed against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard.
The panel was introduced by Karolina Babicka, Legal Advisor for the ICJ’s Europe and Central Asia Programme, and moderated by Tinneke Strik. It was attended by representatives of the European Commission, the EEAS, UNHCR, non-government organizations and independent persons
