Human Rights

THE Chief Executive of the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales expressed their deep concern at reports of mass trials being held in Iran following the political unrest after the disputed June presidential elections. The fourth mass trial in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court began yesterday where over 100 people have been accused of crimes including rioting, vandalism, “acting against national security”, and conspiring against the ruling system. Those on trial include members of the opposition reform movement, including a former vice-president and other senior politicians. Two Iranian workers for the British and French embassies in Tehran, a French academic and an
Iranian-Canadian reporter were also among those on trial. 

Freedom of expression is “an important card in the pack” but “not always the ace of trumps”, according to Lady Justice Arden. 

In a speech, Freedom of Expression and the Role of a Supreme Court—Some Issues from Around the World, at a judicial academic conference in the summer, Arden LJ considered the role of Supreme Courts. 

Freedom of expression is “an important card in the pack” but “not always the ace of trumps”,  according to Lady Justice Arden.
In a speech, Freedom of Expression and the Role of a Supreme Court—Some Issues from Around the World, at a judicial academic conference in the summer, Arden LJ considered the role of Supreme Courts. 

The Australian Bar Association Conference examined how English law deals with human rights considerations, privacy issues and direct access, reports Justice Glenn Martin.  

Why did 150 Australian barristers and judges come to London in June to hear about the law of England and Wales? We, the Australian Bar Association (“ABA”), came precisely because the law is, to varying degrees, different in this jurisdiction. And because of the different ways in which the profession and the judiciary have dealt with problems which have also arisen in Australia. And because exposure to different ideas and attitudes challenges you to re-assess your own decisions and behaviour. 

James Ewins, the Field Office Director of IJM in Bangalore, explains how he is using his legal experience and skills gained at the family Bar to his advantage in freeing slaves in India.  

It may seem like a career at the family Bar advising upon and litigating big-money divorce cases has nothing in common with freeing slaves in South India. And I confess it was not any similarity in the subject matter that persuaded me to move to Bangalore with my wife and three children, to be Director of the International Justice Mission (“IJM”) field office there. But having been here for a few months, I have come to appreciate how my experience can be used to my advantage, and through me to the advantage of the millions of slaves in India today. 

This event is the third in a series of annual lectures on current challenges facing the rule of law around the world, organised by the International Committee of the Bar Council. The title of this year’s lecture is “The progressive erosion of the Rule of Law in Independent Zimbabwe”, and will be given by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, Judge Anthony Gubbay. The lecture will be held in Inner Temple Hall on Wednesday 9 December 2009 from 6.00pm and will be followed by Q&A and a drinks reception. 

The lecture is accredited by the BSB with 1.5 CPD points for barristers There is no charge for admission. Space is limited, so if interested in attending please register by Friday 20 November with Rukaiya Bhegani at RBhegani@BarCouncil.org.uk or on 0207 611 1357. 

The Union of International Lawyers, of the International Criminal Bar Association is organising a seminar about the defence before the international criminal courts on 11th and 12th September 2009. This seminar will deal with the questions relating to the functioning of these jurisdictions, their procedural rules, the evolution of their jurisprudence, and their future from a political point of view as well as a legal one. 

The House of Lords EU sub-committee E has recently published a short updated report supporting renewed EU attempts to enshrine minimum defence rights, in order to balance existing measures such as the European Arrest Warrant. The report anticipates a new, narrower, Commission proposal later this year, which should be consistent with, but go beyond, the European Convention on Human Rights. 

THE Bar Council has published a booklet marking the 60th anniversary of the Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949. The booklet, Legal Aid: 60 Years of Public Service by Barristers, was launched at the Chairman of the Bar’s Media Reception at Middle Temple, and sets out the history of legal aid since 1949. It describes how barristers funded by legal aid have acted for some of society’s most vulnerable over the past 60 years. 

The booklet emphasises the crucial role legal aid plays in providing a fair and effective justice system, by highlighting a number of case studies in criminal, family and civil law. The studies show how public funding of legal representation by barristers has made a real difference to people’s lives and helped to develop the law. The Bar Council’s booklet is published as the publicly-funded Bar is coming under increasing strain with the prospect of further cuts by the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Services Commission (LSC). Proposals to introduce Best Value Tendering (BVT), which are not based on any reliable empirical or economic evidence, will inevitably drive down quality. With many experienced advocates already leaving publicly-funded practice because they cannot afford to stay at the Bar, the impact of successive legal aid cuts on an effective justice system is likely to result in increased, not decreased, public expenditure. 

Lord Steyn, a former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, has called for the identity card scheme to be abandoned.