Sep 11, 2012 | Events, News
On 9-10 September 2012, the ICJ participated in a conference on “the independence of the judiciary in Egypt in light of the constitutional reform process and international standards”.
The conference, organized jointly by the ICJ, the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre and the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, was attended by international and national experts, including Justice Ian Binnie, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Ketil Lund, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Norway and Wilder Tayler, Secretary General of the ICJ.
The conference addressed the following topics: the independence of the judiciary; the statute for judges; the High Judicial Council; the Supreme Constitutional Court; military and security courts and the independence of the judiciary; and the independence and impartiality of the office of the public prosecutor.
Egypt-Concept Note Independence of Justice conference-events-2012 (full text, PDF)
Egypt-ICJ Statement on Military Tribunals-events-2012 (full text, PDF)
Sep 7, 2012 | News
Comunicado de prensa sobre la estrategia de desprestigio que sufren jueces y fiscales que luchan contra la impunidad.
Los días 3 al 6 de septiembre de 2012, la CIJ llevó a cabo entrevistascon el Pleno de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, la Fiscal General, abogados litigantes, fiscales, jueces, con la Asociación de Jueces y Magistrados del Organismo Judicial (AJMOJ), Colegio de Abogados y con diferentes organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil, con el objeto de recabar información acerca de la estrategia de desprestigio que sufren jueces y fiscales que luchan contra la impunidad en Guatemala y de las actuaciones judiciales que se están llevando a cabo para investigar y castigar los crímenes cometidos durante el conflicto armador o.
Guatemala-pronunciamento CIJ-press release-2012-spa (full text in pdf)
Sep 3, 2012 | News
A high level ICJ mission in South Sudan will analyze the situation and assess avenues for progress as regards – broadly – the state of the independence of the judiciary and legal profession in the country.
The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL) is undertaking this mission to Juba, South Sudan, on 3 and 4 September 2012.
In light of the fact that South Sudan is in transition, having achieved independence just over one year ago and recovering from decades of civil war, particular attention will be paid to the differences (and sometimes dichotomy) between the de lege and de facto situation.
Various high-level meetings
The mission members will meet with a broad group of stakeholders in Juba, soliciting information and views from the South Sudanese judiciary, prosecutorial services and legal profession.
Further meetings with high-ranking members of the executive, parliament and civil society will complete the picture.
National consultation
The high-level mission will be followed by a national consultation conference on 5 and 6 September, organized in partnership with the South Sudan Law Society and bringing together key South Sudanese actors in the administration of justice.
Together with the high-level mission members, representatives from the upper hierarchy of the judicial, executive and legislative branches, legal professionals and civil society leaders will discuss judicial and legal professional independence and accountability in the country, exploring both concepts as well as the interplay between them in depth.
The high-level mission will produce a comprehensive analytical report on the current legal and factual state of the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession in South Sudan, making concrete legal-technical and policy recommendations, with the purpose of fostering compliance with international standards on the administration of justice.
The report will be presented to the relevant authorities in South Sudan, before its publication by ICJ.
The high-level mission will be headed by ICJ Commissioner Justice Moses Chinhengo. The other members are: Judges David Wangutusi and Thomas Masuku, two regional experts; Arnold Tsunga, Director ICJ’s Africa Programme; George Kegoro, Executive Director of ICJ-Kenya; and Ilaria Vena, CIJL Associate Legal Advisor.
Photo: ©Gurtong
Aug 27, 2012 | News
The ICJ today expressed its concern at the dismissal of Judge Miroslava Todorova, a judge of the Sofia City Court, and Chairperson of the Bulgarian Judges Association.
Aug 22, 2012 | News
The ICJ and other human rights and legal groups say that the the SADC Summit of Heads of State’s decision on SADC Tribunal denies the SADC people the right to approach the court for justice.The ICJ, SADC LA and SALC express their deepest disappointment at the decision taken by the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government on the SADC Tribunal.
The Summit’s Final Communiqué explains that the region’s leaders had “resolved that a new protocol on the Tribunal should be negotiated and that its mandate should be confined to interpretation of the SADC Treaty and Protocols relating to disputes between member states”.
That decision effectively destroys an integral SADC organ – the currently established Tribunal – and denies the SADC people the right to approach the court for justice.
It is, as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu observes, “a tragedy. It is a blow against accountable government and individual rights.”
SADC Tribunal decision-web story 2012 (Download in English)
Photo: Salc bloggers
