The ICJ congratulates Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, who will become an honorary member of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Law Society president, Peter Williamson, praised Mr. Cumaraswamy’s dedication to justice and the rule of law, stating that the former Special Rapporteur “is a courageous defender of human rights.” He added, “In honouring Mr. Cumaraswamy, the Law Society is echoing tributes from some of the world’s foremost judges and academics. From Nepal to Nicaragua, he has worked tirelessly in the interests of justice all over the world.”
Mr. Cumaraswamy will also be called to the Middle Temple Bench as an Honorary Bencher at a ceremony at the Middle Temple Bench on 7 October in London. Benchers, who are the governing bodies of the Inns of Court, are selected among senior barristers and judges for their eminence.
Appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1994, Mr. Cumaraswamy intervened in more than 100 countries and conducted numerous fact-finding missions to investigate attacks on the independence of judges and lawyers and the rule of law.
Mr. Cumaraswamy was admitted as barrister by the Inner Temple in London in 1966 and has practiced in Kuala Lumpur since 1967. He served as Chair of the Malaysian Bar Council for two years and was a founding member of the Council’s Human Rights Committee and Legal Aid Committee.