Autor: AEA - EAL

Our President Maria Ślązak participated in the European Presidents Conference in Vienna – the biggest gathering of leaders of Bars and lawyers’ organizations on the continent. More information about the event can be found here. The AEA-EAL activity report is available for download.

Dear members of the international legal community,

We are writing with a heavy heart once again, after the Izmir Earthquake in 2020, to appeal to the international legal community to mobilise and support the relief efforts in support of the lawyers’ community in Turkey who have been among those severely affected by the devastating earthquake of February 6, 2023.

As you might have been following, the country woke up to a series of high-magnitude earthquakes, in the magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5. Central and southeastern Turkey was hit severely by these. Lives of around 15 million people, many members of already disadvantaged minority groups including Kurds, Arabs, and immigrants, have changed forever.

The heavy winter conditions impact the search and rescue efforts severely. Initial reports indicate that many people either lost their lives or are still under the rubble, and thousands were left homeless in cold weather conditions or cannot enter their homes. Despite the incremental weather, search and rescue teams continue.  It is also among the information that some districts were completely destroyed. There is still no news from thousands of people.

It is reported that many lawyers, including those who are members of Maras, Hatay, Antep, Diyarbakir, Urfa, Adana, Adiyaman, and Osmaniye Bar Associations, and their families have suffered from serious loss of lives, homes, and workspaces among others. There are many who are under rubble waiting to be rescued.

As a response to this catastrophe, the Union of Bar Association of Turkey (TBB) has started a campaign in support of efforts aiming at providing relief to the lawyers’ community and their families. We have been in contact with them on this initiative and would like to support their efforts by undertaking the task of conveying this call abroad on their behalf.

The TBB started a donation campaign that enables the organisation to accept donations from abroad. Please see the details below. We would like to draw your attention to this important campaign and ask for your and your organisations’ kind consideration of support and mobilization.

The donations will be made directly to the TBB’s Turkey-based USD and Euro accounts, there will be a wire fee. We, therefore, encourage your organisations or network to coordinate the efforts and, if possible, to create a point of collection through which the donations could be made without many hurdles and unnecessary costs. As such donation campaigns are subject to official approval and time limits, the TBB will be able to accept donations to these accounts until the deadline of 15 March 2023, 17:00 pm (Turkey time).

We would also appreciate it if you could let us know of your actions so we can inform the TBB accordingly and ensure a safe receipt on Turkey’s end.

No need to say that any support, regardless of the amount, will count. Please mobilise, support, and help us spread the word.

With gratitude and solidarity.

Ayse Bingol Demir & Ceren Uysal

Here is the necessary info for donations:

The Name of the Bank: DENİZBANK

Branch of the Bank: BALGAT BRANCH

USD Account: 

IBAN: TR540013400000265362702334

EURO Account: 

TR270013400000265362702335

Name of the Account Holder: T. BAROLAR BİRLİĞİ BAŞKANLIĞI    [Please be sure that the name is written correctly and as it is written here]

Swift Code: DENITRIS134

The Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament examines the possibility of establishing the Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. to check all possibilities, a legal assessment has been prepared by Olivier Corten and Vaios Koutroulis, Université libre de Bruxelles.

The paper evaluates the innovative nature of the proposed tribunal and analyzes 3 key elements related to its creation and operation: legal foundation, immunity issues, and implementation and enforcement of decisions. In conclusion, the authors consider two possibilities taking into account the critical importance of legitimacy. The first option is to base the tribunal’s creation on Ukrainian domestic law and self-defence rights, enabling the prosecution of foreign nationals for aggression crimes with UN or other organization agreement. The second, more legitimate option is to expand existing legal mechanisms, particularly the „Uniting for Peace” resolution, due to the UN Security Council’s inability to act due to a permanent member veto (Russia). In either case, significant legality issues persist.

Subcommittee activities follow the resolution of the European Parliament adopted on 19 January 2023 demanding the Russian political and military leadership be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Documents for download:

EP Resolution

Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine – a legal assessment

The seminar on the Zoom platform focused on practical aspects of redress in certain European states and took place on the 25th of January. 2023. The event was organised jointly by the Foreign Affairs Commission and Legal tech Commission of the Regional Bar of Attorneys at law in Rzeszów in cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Polish National Bar of Attorneys at law and the European Association of Lawyers. The program focused on presenting information about redress in France, Germany, and Italy. Our Association was represented by a French lawyer. Anna Mizerka-Favergeon, who spoke on the French redress system.

On January 24, 2023, the worldwide celebration of the Day of the Endangered Lawyer took place, with a focus on the challenging situation of lawyers in Afghanistan. The attached report, compiled by the SAD/AED and various cooperating lawyer organizations within the International Coalition for the Endangered Lawyer, contains all relevant information. We encourage you to support your Afghan colleagues by sharing this report with your network. Events were held in multiple countries to draw attention to the difficult and oppressive situation faced by female human rights lawyers. Press statements were also released. We request your attention to the latest information provided by Aurore Lebeau, the 2023 Day coordinator, and Stuart Russell from the International Association of People’s Lawyers, who have compiled news links on the situation of Afghan lawyers, especially female lawyers. A petition was presented at the Afghan Embassy on January 24 during a demonstration.

More information is available here.

Rule of law and justice: the lawyer, author, and subject of law in Europe.

Under the coordination of Isabelle Andoulsi and Stéphanie Davidson, a Conference on the occasion of the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year took place on 20 January in Brussels to discuss the latest developments in the field of the rule of law and justice and to emphasize the important role of lawyers in defending justice and the rule of law. Reports recently published by the European Commission and the European Commission for the Effectiveness of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council of Europe brought attention to developments and concerns in the rule of law and justice and the profession of lawyers. Lawyers play a crucial role in the defence of the rule of law, but their independence is often threatened due to their strategic position. Our Association was represented by Mr Olivier d’Ursel, a member of the AEA-EAL Board of Directors.

The first panel presented the lawyers’ perspectives, chaired by Me Julie Couturier, the Bâtonnière de Paris. Mr Simone Cuomo, the Secretary General of the CCBE, analyzed the European Commission’s 2022 report on the rule of law and discussed the role of lawyers as guardians and defenders of the rule of law. Julie Goffin discussed the situation of lawyers in Europe who are often the first victims and targets of attacks on the rule of law.

The second panel discussed the perspective of judges and was chaired by Mrs Emmanuelle Bribosia, a judge at the Constitutional Court, professor, and Vice-President of the Institute of European Studies of the ULB. Mr Koen Lenaerts, the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and Mr Frédéric Krenc, a judge of the European Court of Human Rights, focused on exposing the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the role of lawyers in the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. Joanna Hetnarowicz-Sikora, a judge at the Słupsk court in Poland, noted the raising problems of the rule of law in her country since 2015.

On 20 January 2023 our President Maria Ślązak participated as a speaker in the International Conference marking the 5th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Supreme Court. The high-level event focused on the „Implementation of the Rule of Law: Role of the Supreme Court in modern conditions„. The conference was opened by Vsevolod Kniaziev, President of the Supreme Court, Ukraine, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Síofra O’Leary, President of the European Court of Human Rights, and Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It consisted of three sessions, including „Ensuring the legal certainty through the coherent and consistent case law„, „The capacity of modern technologies to improve access to justice„, and „Judiciary in times of war„. Key speakers included judges from the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court of Slovenia, the German Federal Court of Justice, the High Court of Ireland, the Supreme Court of Estonia, and the Ukrainian Supreme Court. The conference discussed the role of the Supreme Court in ensuring the rule of law, consistency of case law, use of technology in improving access to justice, and challenges faced by the judiciary during times of war. Maria presented the view of lawyers on online hearings in the light of ensuring procedural safeguards and human rights for all parties involved.

On the photo – Vsevolod Kniaziev, President of the Supreme Court, Ukraine

The ceremonial Opening of the 2023 Legal Year was held at City Hall in Hong Kong. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung highlighted the three main functions of the Judiciary:
1) to uphold the rule of law and administer justice,
2) to protect fundamental rights, and
3) to make laws under the common law system.
He announced two initiatives to ensure the Judiciary remains modern, including live broadcasting and e-litigation. The Hong Kong Bar Association has called for caution in exercising the power granted by Beijing’s recent interpretation of the national security law. The city’s justice minister and a solicitors group defend the interpretation, stating that it did not grant new powers to the chief executive or national security authorities. The courts were also urged not to „usurp” the legal functions of other government organs. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said the courts must respect and uphold Hong Kong’s constitutional order under China’s Constitution but also not purport to exercise judicial power that they have not been conferred with. The Chairperson of the Hong Kong Bar Association Victor Dawes warned that the exercise of power by the city’s leader or the national security committee would have important implications on the right to a fair trial and the perception of fairness in a trial. The Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said the interpretation was a clarification, not a conferring of new power. The President of The Law Society of Hong Kong Chan Chak-ming said the interpretation was a good example of the authorities’ commitment to implementing „One Country, Two Systems”.

Maria Ślązak, AEA-EAL President spoke during the Presidents’ Roundtable was attended by 80 delegates from 62 lawyers’ associations and international legal organisations from 30 jurisdictions, who gathered to discuss the theme “Navigating international disputes in an era of global upheaval and uncertainty”, jointly organised by The Law Society of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Bar Association.