The ICJ Geneva Declaration on Upholding the Rule of Law and the Role of Judges and Lawyers in Times of Crisis is an instrument for addressing these threats to human rights protection.
The Rule of Law and the protection of human rights are vulnerable to erosion when countries pass through periods of crisis. Armed conflict, terrorist campaigns, insurgencies, states of emergency, food crises, severe political instability, natural disasters, all may place enormous strain on the democratic institutions necessary for ensuring the enjoyment of human rights and the fair administration of justice.
Adopted by the World Congress of the International Commission of Jurists, the Geneva Declaration sets forth 13 core principles indicating key elements of particular responsibility for judges and the legal profession and for the conduct of States in situations of crisis.
This Commentary to the ICJ Geneva Declaration aims to assist judges, legal professionals and human rights advocates in making effective use of the principles by spelling out the basis in law for each of the Declaration’s 13 principles.
ICJ-genevadeclaration-publication-2011 (full text, PDF)