International Commission of Jurists
Arthur Chaskalson mourned

Arthur Chaskalson mourned

Dec 3, 2012 | News

It was with great sadness that the ICJ learned of the death of its former President Arthur Chaskalson at the age of 81 this weekend.

A renowned human rights lawyer and a tenacious opponent of the apartheid government, Arthur Chaskalson was part of Nelson Mandela’s defence team in the 1963 Rivonia Trial, which saw Mandela and other ANC leaders sentenced to life.

He then helped establish the Legal Resources Centre, a non-profit organization seeking to use the law to pursue justice and human rights around South Africa. He ran the Centre from 1978 until 1993.

President of South Africa’s Constitutional Court (1994-2001), Chaskalson became Chief Justice of the same court from 2001 to 2005, after which he retired.

He was elected as an ICJ Comissioner in 1995 and served as President of the organization from 2002 to 2008.

In 2005, the ICJ convened the Eminent Jurists Panel, comprising eight leading international experts who spent three years conducting a worldwide investigation into the impact of counter-terrorism laws and practice on human rights globally.

Arthur Chaskalson chaired the panel, which held 16 hearings covering forty countries in all regions of the world.

Chaskalson also played a major role in the panel’s report, which concluded that many States had confronted the threat of terrorism with ill-conceived measures undermining the Rule of Law and human rights, which has proved to be an important reference for the post 9/11 era.

 

 

 

ICJ calls on OSCE participating states to enhance practical measures for human rights compliance when countering terrorism

ICJ calls on OSCE participating states to enhance practical measures for human rights compliance when countering terrorism

Nov 14, 2012 | Advocacy, Events, Non-legal submissions

At a two-day conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the ICJ called on the OSCE to take practical steps aimed at enhancing human rights compliance while countering terrorism.

The OSCE conference addressed the subject of Strengthening Regional Co-operation, Criminal Justice Institutions and Rule of Law Capacities to Prevent and Combat Terrorism and Radicalization that Leads to Terrorism and was held in Vienna, Austria, on 12 and 23 November 2012.

Addressing the aim of the conference to identify best practices, the ICJ’s Representative to the United Nations, Alex Conte, spoke on trends in national legislative responses to the countering of terrorism, specifically concerning compliance with the rule of law and human rights and the combating of conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and to radicalization. He recommended that the OSCE:

  • Continue with its encouragement of participating states to ratify and implement the universal terrorism-related conventions, including the four most recent conventions, as well as any international human rights treaties to which they are not yet parties.
  • In doing so, pick up on the best practices identified by the former UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism with a view to ensuring that domestic implementing legislation is in compliance with, and is applied in a manner consistent with, human rights and the rule of law, in order to avoid laws and practices that might create conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and to radicalization.
  • Organise structured workshops for judges and the legal profession, including with reference to the best practices mentioned.
  • Establish mechanisms through which participating states can be assisted in undertaking a review of new and existing implementing legislation

OSCEConference-CounterTerrorismAndROL-Agenda (download conference agenda in PDF)

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