Dec 1, 2019 | News
The ICJ, in collaboration with the Judicial Training Institute of Sierra Leone and the Judiciary of Sierra Leone, hosted a judicial dialogue for effective implementation of global, regional and sub-regional human rights standards.
The event brought together over 40 judges representing the High Courts, Courts of Appeal and Supreme Courts of the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio, addressed the opening ceremony, stressed the critical role of the judiciary and called on the judges to remain focused and independent even in the face of unwarranted criticism.
Sierra Leone’s Chief Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards, for his part, emphasized the duty of the judiciary to ensure that the protection of internationally guaranteed human rights is not compromised.
Other speakers at the opening ceremony were Sierra Leone’s Attorney-General/Minister of Justice Ms Priscilla Schwartz, the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone Ms Patricia Ndanema, and the President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association Mr Basita Michael.
‘‘A core objective of the ICJ is to support the protection of human rights across the globe through the promotion of respect for the rule of law,‘‘ said Arnold Tsunga, ICJ’s Africa Regional Director. Tsunga stressed that the programme was initiated based on the ICJ’s conviction that the challenge in Africa is not necessarily a lack of human rights law and standards, but the existence of a huge gap in the implementation.
“The training sessions and judicial dialogue are important to ensure that the quality of supply meets the demand for human rights protection in Africa,” he added.
Working sessions of the event were facilitated by resources persons, including ICJ Commissioners Justice Jesmina King of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Professor Michelo Hansungule; Dr Chidi Anslem Odinkalu of the Africa office of the Open Society Justice Institute and Madam Hannah Forster, Executive Director of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies.
The event was enabled through support by the European Union.
Contact
Arnold Tsunga, ICJ Regional Director for Africa, t: +27 716405926 or +263 777 283 249: e: arnold.tsunga(a)icj.org
Solomon Ebobrah, Senior Legal Adviser (ARP), t: +234 803 492 7549, e: solomon.ebobrah(a)icj.org
Nov 29, 2019
The ICJ today publishes an expanded and updated version of Indigenous and Other Traditional or Customary Justice Systems: selected international sources.
The compilation is a unique practical resource for practitioners in official State justice systems and indigenous, traditional or customary systems.
It is also intended to assist other community members, government officials, development practitioners, civil society organizations, and academic and other professionals who engage with such justice systems.
The compilation is being published as part of an ongoing project on the relationship between indigenous and other traditional or customary justice systems and human rights, access to justice, and the rule of law.
Among the sources included in the compilation are global and regional treaty provisions, UN and other declarations, and the jurisprudence and recommendations of Committees and Special Procedures established by treaties and the UN Human Rights Council.
The sources are organized by themes including the rights of women, rights of children, the role of judges and lawyers and the administration of justice, the rights of indigenous peoples, the rights of minorities, and transitional justice.
This revised edition incorporates new developments since 2018, including the landmark report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and expands to cover certain topics more comprehensively, particularly with respect to indigenous rights.
The ICJ’s multi-year project has included global and Asia-Pacific and Africa regional consultations, and continues in 2020 with a concluding Global Forum in Geneva, and culminating with the publication by ICJ of detailed legal and practical guidance.
The guidance will seek to assist all actors involved in implementation and assessment of relevant targets of Sustainable Development Goal 16 on access to justice for all and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, as well as Goal 5 on gender equality, including: decision-makers and other participants in traditional and customary justice systems; judges, lawyers and prosecutors operating in official justice systems; other government officials; development agencies; United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations; and civil society.
The initial version of the compilation was published in January 2018 under the title Traditional and Customary Justice Systems: Selected International Sources.
Contact
Matt Pollard, Senior Legal Adviser, matt.pollard@icj.org
Download
Universal-Trad Custom Justice Compil updated-Publications-2019-ENG (updated and expanded version of the compilation, in PDF)
Cover Photo: Traditional leaders preside over a case in B-Court, Nyang Payam, Torit County, South Sudan. Photo Credit: UNDP South Sudan2016Angelique Reid ©2016 United Nations
Nov 29, 2019 | Agendas, Events, News
Today, in Brussels, the ICJ held a roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on specific groups, including children, and ethnic and religious groups.
The roundtable brought together 34 judges, lawyers, NGOs and other experts from countries including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, and Spain to discuss how the rights of children and of ethnic and religious minorities can be best protected in applying counter-terrorism legislation in the courts, especially in light of the EU Directive 2017/541 on Combatting Terrorism.
This was the last of four roundtables held by the ICJ and its partner organizations between April and November 2019 in the framework of the EU funded project “Judges Uniting to Stop Terrorism with International, Constitutional and European law (JUSTICE).”
The discussion in the first session of the roundtable addressed the disproportionate impact of counterterrorism laws on ethnic and religious groups. It focused on compliance with the principle of non-discrimination, through safeguards in legislation, in the judicial application of counter-terrorism laws, and in investigation and evidence gathering.
The second session of the roundtable addressed the particular impact of counter-terrorism legislation on children, including the challenges involved in protecting the human rights of children of “foreign fighters” and ensuring the primacy of their best interests in decisions on their return to EU countries. Participants also discussed protection of the human rights of returned children of “foreign fighters” both as victims of terrorism and where they are accused of crimes of terrorism.
See the agenda here.
This workshop was carried out with the financial support of the European Union and the Open Society Foundations. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ICJ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the Open Society Foundations.
Nov 28, 2019 | Cases, News
The ICJ and Amnesty International have submitted a joint third party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Judge Jan Grzęda.
Judge Grzęda’s mandate as a member of the Polish National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ) was prematurely terminated by legislation that entered into force in 2018. Under this law, the mandates of the judicial members of the NCJ appointed under previous legislation were automatically brought to an end once new members were appointed.
Judge Grzęda applied to the European Court of Human Rights alleging that he had been denied access to a tribunal to challenge the termination of his mandate and had been denied an effective remedy for the violations of his rights.
In their third party intervention, the ICJ and Amnesty International analyze international standards on judicial independence and self-governance, including as regards the role national councils for the judiciary, and the consequences of these standards for the right of access to court under Article 6.1 ECHR. The intervention also analyses the role of the NCJ in safeguarding judicial independence in Poland, and recent legislative and policy developments that have seriously undermined the independence of the Polish judiciary.
Read the full intervention text here.
Nov 28, 2019 | Events, News
Today, the ICJ, together with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan, OHCHR and UNODC are holding a meeting of judges from Central Asia to discuss international law and standards in the field of extradition, expulsion, the rule of law and human rights.
The workshop aims to facilitate exchange of experiences regarding the law and practice of extradition and expulsion in European and Central Asian countries. Presentations at the workshop will analyse international law and standards on effective criminal justice co-operation and the protection of human rights in extradition and expulsion, and their application in practice.
The workshop will present cases from national courts as well as from international mechanisms such as the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee.
The workshop is taking place in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and is hosted by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan.
Judges from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are participating in the event that includes international experts from UNODC, ICJ, and Italian Judge Elena Masetti Zannini.
See the agenda of the day in English and in Russian.
