At last! In person Conferences

SUB-COMMITTEES

At last! In person Conferences

Professor Sara Chandler QC (Hon) reports

Suddenly the dam burst, and after more than two years of the pandemic, meeting up in person has blossomed with events in Palermo. In the 17th June the International Fair Trials Day conference focussed on Egypt, and the delegates heard from many distinguished lawyers, journalists, and academics. Baroness Helena Kennedy spoke about the work of the IBA Human Rights Institute. Mary Robinson, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers spoke about the need to remind those embassies who send observers to trials, that they must not sit silent where there is evidence of torture, lack of access to their lawyers and the failure to show documentation about the charges before the court, their silence will be cited as acceptance and published by regimes. The Ebru Timtik award in memory of the Turkish lawyer who died on hunger strike as she protested for a fair trial, was awarded to joint winners, two lawyers in Egyptian prisons.

From 22nd June the FBE held its 30th anniversary congress in Sofia, a city which has many architectural sites from the Roman period. There are many beautiful churches and a central Mosque to visit. The first evening of the Congress was spent in the Palace of the King Simeon!! Who ruled as a six-year-old in 1943, and who as an adult became a politician and Prime Minister of Bulgaria in 2001. Delegates were entertained with music and folk dancing. The Congress addressed the post pandemic role of lawyers, the dynamics of working in polarized societies, the changing image of lawyers, and the evolution of legal practice”. The Human Rights Commission reported on current work in support of lawyers in prison in Turkey, and the Turkish government’s new rules to break up large bar associations such as the Ankara Bar into smaller and weaker new bar associations. There will be five members of the FBE Human Rights Commission participating in the Colombia Caravana delegation to Colombia in August 19 to 28. Readers may remember that it was WHLS that set up the Caravana international network of lawyers in support of human rights in Colombia. International sub-committee Co-Chair Jeffrey Forrest, and Vice Chair, Sara Chandler, were founder members.

On Day two of the Congress, there were several contributions from Bar leaders from all over Europe on attacks on the rule of law and the independence of judges and lawyers. It is clear that there is much concern, and vigilance is needed to monitor the situation in various European jurisdictions. The new FBE President, Bas Martens of the Hague Bar Association, took office at the AGM, together with Izabella Konopcka of the Wroclaw Bar (1st V ice President) and Marc Labbe of the Swiss National Association of Advocates (2nd Vice President).

Any member of WHLS may participate in international activities, so please look through the following dates.

Further international dates

2-3 September in Bilbao: Young Lawyers Human Rights Oratory Competition

6-9 October: WHLS visit to the Barcelona Bar

13-14 October in Gdansk: New technology conference

20-22 October in Krakow: Rule of Law conference

27-29 October in Dakar, Senegal: UIA conference

17-19 November in Palermo: FBE Autumn congress

Prof. Sara Chandler