The plight of judges and lawyers as well as the structural problems in legal systems are annually highlighted in Attacks on Justice. Every year, this report sheds an alarming light on the state of human rights protection around the world.
It demonstrates that the measures threatening judges and lawyers vary from violent actions such as killings, torture, and enforced disappearances, to subtle ones such as removing judicial discretion and limiting judicial resources. Violent and non-violent measures are obviously not equal in their impact. Both violate international standards, however.
In 1985, the United Nations adopted the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary and the 1990 UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. These standards explain what is meant by judicial independence and identify the role lawyers. They outline some basic safeguards of protection. The Center for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (C IJL) gauges government and non-governmental behaviour against these standards.
attacks on justice-publication-1995-eng (full text in English, PDF)
attacks on justice-publication-1995-fra (full text in French, PDF)
(full text in French, PDF)