All posts by Redactie

Activiteiten, Special Rapporteur, Tunesië

Special reporter Gabriela Knaul and Tunesia

218px-Flag_of_Tunisia.svgThe special reporter on the independence of judges and lawyers to the UN, Gabriela Knaul, has urged the Tunisian authorities in December 2014 to implement provisions concerning the judiciary in the new constitution. This concerns in particular the provisions guaranteeing the independence of judges, prosecutors and lawyers, such as the establishment of a Supreme Judicial Council and Constitutional Court. The achievements of the new constitution must become a reality. This must be done in accordance with the timetable set out in the constitu-tion, said Knaul. She makes this statement after a fact-finding mission of nine days in Tunesia. Based on these findings, Knaul will issue a report to the Human Rights Council in June. She has requested renewed attention to the dismissal of 80 judges in 2012. 32 of these judges have appealed this decision. Knaul says that these procedures are not considered to be fair and honest and she asks the parliament to ensure due process. Judges for Judges investigating the possibility look after the interests of these judges.

Read Knaul’s speech to the Tunisian authorities at the end of her visit: [www.ohochr.org].

Source: [www.constitutionnet.org/fr].

Activiteiten, Oekraïne

Volkov reinstated in Ukraine´s Supreme Court

On February 2, 2015, five years after his dismissal as judge of the Supreme Court and two years after the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, Oleksandr Volkov was reinstated as judge of Ukraine´s Supreme Court. It was a wonderful ´Christmas present´ that the Ukrainian Parliament on December 25, 2014reversed the decision of January 17, 2010 to dismiss Volkov, thereby giving effect to the following part of the Strasbourg judgement:bb

208. Having said that, the Court cannot accept that the applicant should be left in a state of uncertainty as regards the way in which his rights should be restored. The Court considers that by its very nature the situation found to exist in the instant case does not leave any real choice as to the individual measures required to remedy the violations of the applicant’s Convention rights. Having regard to the very exceptional circumstances of the case and the urgent need to put an end to the violations of Articles 6 and 8 of the Convention, the Court holds that the respondent State shall secure the applicant’s reinstatement to the post of judge of the Supreme Court at the earliest possible date.

What follows is the message published by the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), the organisation that supported Volkov in the Strasbourg procedure) on the occasion of Volkov´s reinstatement:

Continue reading Volkov reinstated in Ukraine´s Supreme Court →

Activiteiten, Sri Lanka

Good news from Sri lanka

dddOver the last years there have been more and more reports that the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka has been under pressure. Judges who took decisions that were not politically expedient had a difficult time. This cumulated into the dismissal in January 2013 of the Chief Justice of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, Mrs. Bandaranayake. This dismissal was politically motivated. She was replaced by Mohan Peiris, who had very close links with the political leadership at the time. This was reason for Judges for Judges to concern ourselves with the fate of our fellow-judges in Sri Lanka. In an open letter dated January 23, 2013, signed by more than 50 (prominent) judges worldwide, including a number of Dutch judges, the International Commission of Jurists, labelled the dismissal as ‘illegal’.

Also, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Insitute (IBAHRI), in a rapport dated March 2013, reached hard conclusions about Continue reading Good news from Sri lanka →

Algemeen, Nieuwsbrief

In this newsletter: Sri Lanka, Ukraine and more

Judges ought to be more learned than witty, more reverend than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.

Francis Bacon, Essays, Civil and Moral: Of Judicature (LVI)

Dear friends of Judges for Judges,

In writing this short preface to this newsletter I am looking back at a week full of activities by Judges for Judges. We have been busy preparing for print a new edition of the booklet ‘Matters of Principle’, while this week also saw the fourth time Judges for Judges met with a new group of trainee judges at SSR, the Study Centre for the Judiciary, and discussed core values, codes and straight-backed judges. Looking forward I am delighted to go and see – as a member of the jury – the films that show at the ‘Camera Justitia Program’ at the upcoming ‘Movies that Matter Festival’, and meet the inspiring guests that will speak at this festival.

This newsletter contains relatively a lot of good news, for example about dismissed judges who have been re-instated after years of proceedings and international pressure – including by us.

Sadly, we also have to conclude that nothing has changed for the better in the case of Venezuelan judge Maria Afiuni. The executive there does not seem to value a real independent judiciary. The question remains when things will change for the better.

In conclusion, I would like to say that by far not all activities by Judges for Judges are related in our newsletter: not every case benefits from publicity. I do want to mention that in the last couple of weeks we have had very constructive talks with the Centre for International legal Cooperation (CILC) and with Justice & Peace about their lovely project Shelter City Netherlands. The talks provided a good opportunity to get to know each other and to see how we could mutually reinforce our activities.

I appreciate that you are willing to take the time to read about judges who can (or could) use our support!

Tamar Trotman
Chairman

Activiteiten, Turkije

J4J concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of two Turkish judges

Judges for Judges is very concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of two Turkish judges Metin Özçelik and Mustafa Başer since April 30th and the 1st of May respectively.

In a society based on the rule of law it is the duty of the government to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary. But we are alarmed by this apparent serious interference with the work of these judges in politically sensitive cases.

This because there are serious indications that these two judges were arrested and detained as a result of decisions they made while discharging their professional duties rather than on evidence of criminal activity.

Tamara Trotman had a meeting in Istanbul on July 27th 2015 with Başer’s and Özçelik’s lawyers Hacer Yilmaz and Önder Durdu. Afterwards there was a pressconference in front of the Court in Istanbul where both lawyers made statements about the cases of their clients.
Further reading:

Continue reading J4J concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of two Turkish judges →

Activiteiten, IBAHRI, Matters of Principle, Special Rapporteur

Mensenrechtenraad (15 juni – 3 juli 2015)

United NationsOp dit moment (15 juni – 3 juli 2015) vindt in Geneve de 29ste sessie plaats van de Human Rights Council (HRC) van de Verenigde Naties. Nederland is van 2015- 2017 lid van deze Mensenrechtenraad.

Deze week presenteert ook Gabriela Knaul, de Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers haar nieuwste rapport ‘Protecting Children’s Rights in the Justice System’.Rechters voor Rechters is voor een aantal bijeenkomsten uitgenodigd die in de marge van deze grote internationale vergadering plaatsvinden. Immers niet alleen de landendelegaties zijn op dit moment in Geneve, ook vele vertegenwoordigers van NGO’s op mensenrechtengebied verblijven deze weken korter of langer in deze mooie stad.

Een hele nuttige manier dus om veel verschillende mensen te zien en te spreken en nuttige contacten te leggen of te verdiepen voor Rechters voor Rechters. Continue reading Mensenrechtenraad (15 juni – 3 juli 2015) →

CIJL_ICJ, Special Rapporteur

Independence of the Judiciary: European standards | CIJL

The Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL)
The Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL)

Head of ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges & Lawyers, Matt Pollard, today moderated a side event on “Securing the independence and effectiveness of the Judiciary: European initiatives and perspectives in global context” at the UN Human Rights Council.

At the event, representatives of the Council of Europe highlighted the work of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE). The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Ms Gabriela Knaul (from Brazil) reflected on the global relevance of European initiatives and institutions during her six years in the mandate.

Matt Pollard discussed the impact of Council of Europe standards and jurisprudence, both within Europe and in terms of global influence, from the perspective of civil society, as well as highlighting that standards and jurisprudence developed in other regions also present a rich source that European institutions should do more to draw on in their own work.

The interactive Panel discussion included extensive questions and comments from state delegations and civil society representatives in attendance at the event.

Panelists:

  • Mr. Georg Stawa, President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, Council of Europe
  • Mr. Bart van Lierop, President of the Consultative Council of European Judges
  • Mrs. Gabriela Knaul, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
  • Mr. Matt Pollard, Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, International Commission of Jurists (moderator)

This side event was organised by the Permanent Delegation of the Council of Europe to the UN Office in Geneva, with the co-sponsorship of Australia, Botswana, Hungary, Mexico as the main sponsors of the resolution on the independence of judges and lawyers.

 

Source: 17.06.2015. http://www.icj.org/independence-of-the-judiciary-european-standards/. Republished with permission.

Activiteiten, PIFJ

Programa Interamericano de Facilitadores Judiciales

El pasado lunes 19 de enero, el doctor Pedro Vuskovic (veáse foto),f embajador con la OAS del Programa Interamericano de Facilitadores Judiciales (PIFJ), visitó el tribunal de apelación en La Haya, a la invitación de Jueces para Jueces.

Contó sobre el PIFJ, un programa muy exitoso que – gracias en parte a la asistencia financiera de los Países Bajos – funciona en un gran número de países de Latinoamérica y que – brevemente dicho – da información jurídica y mediación a ciudadanos ffque de otra manera, por falta de dinero o por distancia física, deberían prescindir de acceso a la justicia/a un juez. La implicación de jueces locales en los países participadores en este programa es de vital importancia.

Katrien Witteman, juez penal en el tribunal de Noord-Holland, escribió sobre esto un artículo en la revista Trema, Continue reading Programa Interamericano de Facilitadores Judiciales →