The ICJ and the Transitional Justice Law Committee of the Nepal Bar Association are organizing a High–Level Interaction Program on general amnesty, case withdrawal and pardon.
On 31 May, the ICJ organized a parallel event at the Human Rights Council on “The Role of Judges and Lawyers in Times of Crisis”.
The panel comprised the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul, Carlos Ayala (former Chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) and Gerritjan van Oven (President, Judges for Judges); ICJ Legal & Policy Director Ian Seiderman moderated the discussion. The speakers addressed the special role to be played by judges and lawyers in times of crisis, as last line of defense against the exercise of arbitrary power by political, military and other actors. The meeting also marked the publication of the Legal Commentary to the ICJ Geneva Declaration on Upholding the Rule of Law and the Role of Judges and Lawyers in Times of Crisis.
Role of judges and lawyers-event-2011 (full text, PDF)
Seven years after the arrest and killing of Maina Sunuwar, the Government of Nepal should take immediate steps to ensure that criminal proceedings move forward, the ICJ and other Human Rights groups said today.
Advocacy Forum (AF), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the ICJ express their solidarity with Maina’s family, and call on the Nepali authorities to immediately transfer Major Niranjan Basnet to the Kavre District Court where he has been charged with murder, and arrest Babi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Amit Pun who have all been implicated in her death.
That Maina’s family is still waiting for justice for her killing, as in so many cases of crimes during the armed conflict, suggests that the realization of victims’ right to a judicial remedy for serious crimes remains a distant dream in Nepal.
Nepal-MainaSunuwar-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ today urged the Government of Nepal to take swift action to enforce pending judicial orders regarding serious crimes allegedly committed by members of both the Nepal Army and the Maoist Party.
These include the 2004 murder of 13-year-old Maina Sunuwar while detained at the Army’s Peacekeeping Training Centre and the 1998 murder of Ujjan Kumar Shrestha by Constituent Assembly (CA) Member Balkrishna Dhungel.
Nepal-cease obstruction justice-press release-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Nepal-cease obstruction justice-press release-2010 (full text in Nepali, PDF)
On September 20-21, 2010, the ICJ Global Security and Rule of Law Initiative convened an informal expert consultation on the issue of drone killings and targeted killings. The meeting discussed legal policy and advocacy issues with the perspective of strengthening the international human rights response to the increasing use of drone killings in different parts of the world, including in situations of armed conflicts and outside genuine armed conflicts. It illustrated the frequent disregard of international human rights law and a lack of transparency and accountability for when and how drones are used for targeted killings. The meeting brought together senior lawyers of leading international human rights organizations, experts of international humanitarian law and general international law. The newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary and Summary Executions also attended the meeting.
For more information see the agenda of the meeting.
Drones killing rights back-agenda-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
South Africa: Constitutional Court’s affirmation that principles of judicial independence are fully applicable to military courts is a welcome step forward
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EU: Access to a lawyer in juvenile justice proceedings remains a key concern in several EU Member States