The International Commission of Jurists has elected as its new president Madam Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé of the Supreme Court of Canada. Madam Justice L'Heureux-Dubé will serve for a term of three years. The elections took place at the Triennial Meeting of the ICJ, which was held in Cape Town, South Africa, July 22-24, 1998. It is the first time the position has been held by a woman or a Canadian.
Remarks from Madame Justice Claire L'Heuruex-Dubé
The list of our achievements in the past is extensive and impressive. In the new millennium, the world faces new challenges, and the ICJ and the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Professor Kofi Kumado, and board members from all over the world are ready to face these challenges.
At the dawn of the new millennium, the New Plan of Action for the ICJ as adopted by the participants at the Cape Town meeting in July stressed the following:
- The need to develop strategies for monitoring the activities of the new global actors, in particular, of international financial institutions and trade and investment organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and regional financial institutions,, and to lobby for and contribute to the drafting of international trade and investment agreements that conform to international human rights standards.
- To contribute to raising the human rights awareness of corporations and to strengthening existing international human rights mechanisms and instruments to ensure the accountability of corporations for human rights violations perpetrated as a consequence of their activities.
- To link up with other organizations to begin a campaign against corruption and the impunity of its perpetrators by developing normative strategies at the national, regional, and universal levels. To work closely in this respect with international financial institutions and intergovernmental organizations.
- To monitor, assist and work in full co-operation with the International Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in their crucial tasks. Concurrently, the ICJ will continue to work toward the establishment of the International Criminal Court. In Africa, the ICJ will continue to work closely with the OAU towards the establishment of the African Court. Campaigns should be launched for the ratification of the ICC Statute and the Protocol for the establishment of the African Court.
- The ICJ and its Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers will continue its relentless combat for the promotion and protection of the independence of judges and lawyers
Without an independent bench and bar which dispenses justice with impartiality and in the respect of equality values and the observance of the rule of law, there is no justice. That is what the ICJ stands for, and it is the mission it will pursue relentlessly.
Hon. Michèle Rivet Addresses CBA at Opening Ceremonies
Canadian Section President Michèle Rivet addressed members of the Canadian Bar Association at the opening ceremonies of the CBA conference in St. John's, Newfoundland, on August 24, 1998. Judge Rivet spoke about the state of human rights following the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Judge Rivet pointed out that, while in the past fifty years significant progress has been achieved in the area of human rights, violence and depredations have continued to occur on a massive scale. She emphasized the ongoing challenge to make the Universal Declaration a reality:
In today's world, the global economy seems to dominate everything, and this has perhaps caused us to relinquish the long view of what we want the world to be, to subordinate the dream of the Universal Declaration to fiscal concerns. If the Universal Declaration is ever to become the Acommon standard of achievement@ for human rights on a global scale, we will have to be more focused on what is necessary to attain that goal. We will have to remember that the rule of law is fundamental to the achievement, implementation, and maintenance of human rights. Canadian jurists have a particular role to play in making the dream of the Universal Declaration a reality.
Judge Rivet observed that the Canadian juridical community has an obligation to assist in the development of legal and judicial systems around the world. Likewise, it is important to stay informed and aware of situations in which the rule of law and the independence of the bar and bench are threatened or non-existent. Finally, it is necessary to be involved in international initiatives pertaining to the rule of law and human rights issues in general.
Judge Rivet concluded her address with a warning against complacency. Canadian jurists, she remarked, have good reason to be proud of their ongoing efforts to promote the rule of law and the extension of human rights at home and abroad. "Nevertheless, fifty years after its ratification, the human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not yet truly universal. The task of Canadian judges and lawyers is to work toward that goal."
The full text of Judge Rivet's address is available on request from the Ottawa office.
Annual Meeting in St. John's
The Annual Meeting of the International Commission of Jurists was held in St. John's, Newfoundland, on August 26, 1998. The Hon. Michèle Rivet presided. The minutes of the meeting are included with this newsletter.
Judge Rivet made a comprehensive report to the meeting, which is attached to the minutes, and spoke of upcoming events that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Brian A. Crane presented the Financial and Membership reports.
There was discussion of the Triennial Meeting that had been held in Cape Town, South Africa in July, and of the Resolution that had been passed there regarding Canadian Section involvement in the establishment of an international data base for cases on the rule of law.
Senator Gérald-A. Beaudoin presented the report of the Nominating Committee.
No Tarnopolsky Award was presented this year.
The Annual Meeting was followed by a Council meeting at which the following officers were elected for 1998-1999.
| President: | Hon. Michèle Rivet |
| Vice-Presidents: | |
| Atlantic Region: | Hon. F.B .William Kelly |
| Quebec: | Dean Louis Perret |
| Ontario: | Brian A. Crane Q.C. |
| Prairie Region: | David Matas |
| British Columbia: | Hon. Kenneth M. Lysyk |
| Hon. Secretary-Treasurer: | T. Bradbrooke Smith, Q.C. |
Council also passed two resolutions relating to the Yugoslavia project. In addition, Council approved a by-law amendment that will include a new membership category for lawyers in their first two years of practice. The annual fee for members in this category is $25.00
Yugoslavia Project Underway
In July, the Canadian Section was pleased to learn that its project with the Center for Democracy in Belgrade had been approved by CIDA. The nine-month project, which will promote the establishment of an impartial and independent judiciary in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, will involve the training in Canada of 15 Serbian and Montenegrin judges and the writing of a comprehensive background document intended to be part of an ongoing reform strategy in the FRY.
The project will be based in Montreal and will involve the participation of judges from across Canada. Montreal lawyer Myriam De Blois has been named project director.
Triennial Meeting in Cape Town
The Triennial Meeting of the International Commission of Jurists was held from July 21 to July 24, 1998, in Cape Town, South Africa, concurrently with the ICJ Conference on the Rule of Law in a Changing World.
Among those matters discussed at the meetings were the past and current activities of the ICJ, the need for the ICJ to strengthen the relationship with its national sections, the Death Penalty, the International Criminal Court, the situation in Indonesia, judicial independence, and the human rights implications of the rule of law.
Three Canadian Section members attended the Triennial Meeting, the Hon. Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, who was elected international president, Canadian Section president, the Hon. Michèle Rivet, and Allan McChesney.
The following texts of speeches presented at the Triennial Meeting and ICJ Conference are available on request from the Ottawa office:
Opening remarks at the ICJ Conference on the Rule of Law in a Changing World by Acting Chairman of the ICJ Executive Committee, Kofi Kumado, by the representative of the South African Organizing Committee, Adv. Nono Goso, and by ICJ Secretary General Adama Dieng.
Valedictory Address at the Conference by Mullah Omar, Minister of Justice of South Africa
Report of the Secretary General of the ICJ, Adama Dieng
"Independence and Impartiality: The Foundations of Equality" - Hon. Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, Supreme Court of Canada
"The Emerging International Judiciary and New Challenges for the Rule of Law" - Jeffrey Howell, Q.C., Professor, University College of London
"The Independence of the Judiciary" - Hon. Justice I. Mahomed, Chief Justice of South Africa
The UN Basic Principles and the Work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers" - Data' Para Cumaraswamy, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Accountability: Judicial Independence vs. Judicial Accountability" - Justice P.N. Bhagwati,
"Resources: The role of international financial institutions in judicial strengthening and reform" - Dr. Diego García-Sayán, Comisión Andina de Juristas, Peru
"Globalization and the Rule of Law" - Dr. Andrew Clapham, Geneva
"Globalization, Liberalization of Trade and Investment: Impacts on Respect for Human Rights" - Clarance J. Dias, International Centre for Law in Development
In addition, the following documents are available:
ICJ Briefs to the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court:
- Definition of Crimes
- Exercise of Jurisdiction and Complementarity
- The Final Clauses and the Final Act
Four short documents regarding the Death Penalty
A report on the rights of aliens in Japan
Freedom of Expression of Judges: The Case of Judge Teranishi - prepared by Japan Civil Liberties Union
Database on Human Rights
At its Triennial Meeting, the International Commission of Jurists adopted a resolution for the creation of a database of international supreme court decisions concerning the independence of the judiciary. The ICJ has requested that the Canadian Section look into the establishment of such a database by the Research Centre on Public Law of the University of Montreal.
Upcoming Commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of the UDHR
The Canadian Section is involved as co-sponsor and participant in two major international conferences that will be held in Canada later this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The first of these, Universal Rights and Human Values: A Blueprint for Peace, Justice and Freedom, will take place in Edmonton, Alberta, on November 26-28. Keynote speakers will be Canadian Minister of Justice Anne McLellan and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson. A number of Canadian Section members, including David Matas, Hon. Rosalie Abella, Hon. Jules Deschênes, and Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay, will be taking part in the conference panels.
It is hoped that an additional meeting can be organized for Canadian Section members from Alberta.
The World Conference on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be held in Montreal on December 7- 9, 1998. The keynote speaker will be Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor for the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Several Canadian Section members will also participate in this conference. In addition to Madam Justice Arbour, these include Professor William Schabas, Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay, Hon. Jules Deschênes, Hon. Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, Nurjehan Mawani, and Hon. Michèle Rivet. It is hoped that Mona Rishmawi, Director of the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers in Geneva will also participate.
Membership
Membership of the Canadian Section currently stands at 627, the majority of whom have paid their 1998 fees. Nevertheless, outstanding fees represent an amount that is significant to us. A reminder to those who have not yet remitted their 1998 fees will be sent out in the coming weeks.
Donations to the Canadian Section have increased substantially this year, from $1,691.05 in 1997, to $2,548.36 so far in 1998. Since revenue from membership fees remains relatively the same from year to year, the increase in the amount of donations represents a real increase in the amount the Canadian Section has available to contribute to international ICJ activities and to activities in Canada. In particular, we hope to promote more meetings of Canadian Section members at the local level, such as those currently in the planning stages in Alberta and Vancouver.
Please note that the Canadian Section now has an e-mail address. While for the time being most documents will continue to travel by traditional means, please feel free to send inquiries and requests by e-mail. E-mail should be addressed to Pat Whiting, at patw@cba.org.
Publications from Geneva
Brief ICJ Assessment of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (8-pages)
Press releases
The following press releases have been received from Geneva and are available on request:
- Two ICJ Members [Senator Solari Yrigoyen and Dr. Asma Jahangir] Join UN Human Rights Protection Mechanisms
- ICJ Calls on All in Liberia to Respect the Rule of Law and Human Rights
- ICJ Calls for International Intervention in Kosovo and Sanctions on Serbia
- Jurists Call for Restoration of Bar Association in Egypt
- ICJ Considers that the Arrest of Pinochet Is an Important Step in the Combat Against Impunity