International

Michael Todd QC reports back from the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association Biennial Conference 2013, held in Cape Town in April  

It served as a poignant reminder of South Africa’s recent past, and the rebirth of that Nation, that lawyers from all over the Commonwealth should gather in Cape Town, in April this year, for the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association Biennial Conference. In many, if not most, of the jurisdictions which I visited last year as Chairman of the Bar, I was privileged to attend conferences and forums, the central theme of which was the Rule of Law. They were interesting, and often inspirational, conferences. There is no shortage of able, articulate and committed people available to speak on, or around, the subject; and it is absolutely vital that they should continue to do so. 

Schona Jolly explains the Bar Human Rights Committee’s concerns over the Bangladesh War Crimes Verdicts.  

In the dying days of Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence, in which liberation from what was then known as West Pakistan was sought, grave and widespread atrocities were committed. Estimates of the killings range from about half a million up to three million people, but there is no reliable data. Over forty years later, the attempts to bring much-sought justice for those atrocities are being mired by the controversies surrounding the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) which was set up in 2010 to try Bangladeshis accused of being complicit in those crimes. 

Desmond Browne QC reflects on the bravery of the lawyers and human rights workers in Zimbabwe in the light of the scandalous arrest of the country’s former Law Society president, Beatrice Mtetwa.  

Few can have missed the publicity accorded to the handshake between Robert Mugabe, the former Jesuit schoolboy and the new Pope Francis I. Meanwhile, back in Harare the votes were being counted in the constitutional referendum needed before a new election can take place, and Beatrice Mtetwa, a former president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, was called to the assistance of a client whose home was being raided by the police. The date was Sunday 17 March 2013. 

The Bar Human Rights Committee has launched a report into the removal of the Sri Lankan chief justice, as Theodora A. Christou and Gráinne Mellon explain.  

The chief justice of Sri Lanka, Dr Shirani Bandaranayke, was impeached by the Sri Lankan Parliament on 10 January 2013 after a report from a parliamentary select committee of seven government ministers declared her guilty of misconduct. The removal came shortly after the chief justice twice ruled against the government on the constitutionality of a controversial piece of legislation, the Divineguma Bill. The removal also occurred despite a ruling by the Supreme Court that the impeachment breached the constitution and international criticism that the impeachment violated principles of international law concerning the independence of judiciary. 

How can the British Spanish Law Association help your international practice? Sarah Lucy Cooper explains.  

The British Spanish Law Association (BSLA) was founded in 2001 by a group of British and Spanish lawyers including myself. It is one of a number of bilateral lawyers’ associations set up to enable networking across jurisdictions, something which with the benefit of Direct Access is becoming an increasingly important part of all of our practice. We were set up with the support both of the Bar Council and the Law Society and are one of a number of bilateral lawyers’ organisations. In 2001, despite apparently one million British people owning property in Spain, with the obvious cross border issues that arise as result, there was in fact no organisation set up for British and Spanish lawyers to come together. 

Christian Wisskirchen, Head of International Relations of the Bar Council, and Frederico Singarajah, a member of its International Committee, look at the growing legal services market in Brazil . 

The fact that the legal services market of Brazil is attracting increasing interest from law firms around the world should come as no surprise, given the country’s rapid economic growth in recent years as one of the emerging national economies (along with Russia, India, China and now South Africa, the so-called “BRICSs”). 

Stephen Cragg, in the Maldives to observe on behalf of the Bar Human Rights Committee the prosecution of ex-President Mohammed Nasheed, reveals a very different side to the ‘paradise’ islands.  

The Maldives is a destination probably best known to some barristers as a place to soak up some winter sun and relieve the stress of professional life, on one of the luxurious island resorts which are strung out both north and south of the capital city of Male, home to about two thirds of the 300,000 population of the Maldives. 

Prisoners Abroad is the only UK charity caring for the welfare and most basic human rights of British people in prison overseas. Sir Henry Brooke CMG, a long term supporter and now a Patron of the charity, looks at the reality of life for British prisoners overseas on remand and after they are sentenced.  

The actress Harriet Walter recently made a radio appeal for the charity Prisoners Abroad. She spoke of a man called Paul who was serving his sentence in a jail in Thailand. He described the prison conditions in these terms... 

Andrew Otchie shares his experiences following a recent trip to Ghana and offers his reflections on its legal history and legal profession.  

In May 2012, the sudden and unforeseen passing away of my Father made it necessary for me to undertake a long overdue trip to Ghana, and experience its very different culture, traditions, and legal system. While many practising at the Bar of England & Wales may have had some experience in dealing with Ghanaians in this jurisdiction (a diaspora which has in many ways assimilated to British customs and routines), an experience of the way of life in West Africa can often come as something of a culture shock, even to those of African heritage. I found myself in the midst of the unfortunate, although all too common situation, of trying to administer the property of someone who had died without leaving a will, and the ensuing problems that can be further complicated by differing applications of common, and customary law. 

Having spent two weeks in the Lioness Mountains, Peter Smith turns the spotlight onto the developing justice system he encountered there.  

Mention Sierra Leone and one’s first thoughts are of a small, poor country in sub-Saharan Africa, the grimiest part of the continent, still recovering from a brutal insurgency that was only ended when Tony Blair sent British forces to intervene in 2000.