Tags
You are viewing JUSTICE SYSTEMS, All items
Jan van Zyl Smit
Director, Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law
Biography Dr Jan van Zyl Smit was appointed Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law in May 2024, having served as Deputy Director since 2019. A comparative constitutional lawyer by background, Jan's work focuses mainly on the judiciary and judicial reform. He has been instrumental in developing international standards on judicial appointments, playing a leading role in drafting the Cape Town Principles on judicial appointment commissions, and contributed to the development…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSJulinda Beqiraj
Maurice Wohl Senior Research Fellow in European Law
Biography Dr. Julinda Beqiraj is the Maurice Wohl Senior Fellow in European Law. She leads and develops the research and events program in European law and publishes high-quality research for the Institute in this area; proactively pursues Institute-wide research projects in European law areas, (such as human rights trade and the environment), drawing on expertise from across the Institute, as appropriate; and contributes to the Bingham Centre's work on Access to Justice,…
EUROPE+2The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine - Speeches, Papers and Interviews
Last Updated: 26th September 2024
Speeches, Papers and Interviews Home Vision Meet the Team Events News Speeches Papers and Interviews Blogs Concept Papers The discussion about the need for a strategy for the judiciary in Ukraine has been ongoing since the 2016 judiciary reform. Its importance has become even more critical during the full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of Ukraine in February 2022. Among the recommendations of…
JUSTICE SYSTEMS+1The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine in the Context of the Rule of Law and the EU Accession Aspirations
22nd July 2024
This project will contribute to a critical study of Ukraine's judicial system from a historical (from 1991 - to date) and legal perspective. It will examine key features including judicial reforms, independence of the judiciary with the rule of law framework, anti-corruption measures, issues of efficiency and accountability, and harmonisation with the Council of Europe (CoE) and EU Standards. No research of this nature or scope has ever been undertaken about the Ukrainian judicial system,…
GOVERNMENT+4The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine - Advisory Board
Last Updated: 17th July 2024
Advisory Board Home Vision Meet the Team Events News Speeches, Papers and Interviews Blogs Advisory Board The project is consulted by the Advisory Board, comprising prominent current and former national and international judges. Rt. Hon. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury Former President of the UK Supreme Court, President of the BIICL Lord Neuberger was called to the English bar in 1975. Specializing…
GOVERNMENT+3The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine - Vision
Last Updated: 17th July 2024
Vision Home Meet the Team Advisory Board Events News Speeches, Papers and Interviews Blogs Vision Ukraine is a new democratic state with a complicated historical, political, and legal background. The capacity to uphold and ensure Democracy, Rule of Law, and independent Judiciary in Ukraine through the challenging times of War may give a new impulse for strengthening and consolidating pan-European values and commitments and…
GOVERNMENT+3The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine - Meet the Team
Last Updated: 16th July 2024
Meet the Team Home Vision Advisory Board Events News Speeches, Papers and Interviews Blogs Professor Tetyana Antsupova Professor Tetyana Antsupova is the lead researcher of the Project "The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine in the Context of the Rule of Law and the EU Accession Aspirations", former judge of the Supreme Court in Ukraine (Grand Chamber). Professor Antsupova is a Senior Fellow…
GOVERNMENT+3The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine
Last Updated: 16th July 2024
The Dynamics of the Judiciary in Ukraine in the Context of the Rule of Law and the EU Accession Aspirations Vision Meet the Team Advisory Board Events News Speeches, Papers and Interviews Blogs About the Project This project will contribute to a critical study of Ukraine's judicial system from a historical (from 1991 - to date) and legal perspective. It will examine key features including judicial reforms, independence…
GOVERNMENT+3Judicial reform in Albania and Ukraine: A comparative analysis
Ola Ugwu (Head of Public and Youth Engagement Programme at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law) and Dr. Giulia Gentile (Fellow in Law at the London School of Economics (LSE) Law School), interviewed Professor Sergii Koziakov, associate professor of private international law at the Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv regarding his experience as Chairman of the Judicial Appointments body of Ukraine on judicial transparency and independence,…
CITIZENSHIP+2Update 21 October 2022
21st October 2022
Image: Prime Minister Liz Truss announcing her resignation (Photo by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, reproduced under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Dear Friends, After a chaotic week in Westminster that ended with Liz Truss' resignation, the UK looks set to have its third Prime Minister in two months. It remains unclear who will succeed Truss, but the Bingham Centre will be scrutinising any new Government's legislative programme and actions insofar as they have implications…
EUROPE+3Weekly Update 30 September 2022
30th September 2022
Weekly Update 30 September 2022 Dear Friends, Secret laws violate the Rule of Law, sowing fear and chaos even in authoritarian societies. This was dramatically illustrated last week by President Putin's conscription decree to mobilise new forces for the war in Ukraine, as the category of people subject to conscription was reportedly contained in a secret paragraph. The regime claimed that it was mobilising only reservists and people with specialised military skills. However, flights…
JUSTICE SYSTEMS+2Weekly Update 23 September 2022
23rd September 2022
Weekly Update 23 September 2022 Dear Friends, Welcome back to the Bingham Centre's Weekly Update, which resumes this week after a summer break. Much has changed over this period. The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who came to define the modern UK monarchy during her 70 years on the throne, has been widely mourned amid reflection on her extraordinary public service. The Queen performed the role of constitutional sovereign of the UK and other realms, as well as Head of the wider Commonwealth,…
EUROPE+2Weekly Update 13 May 2022
13th May 2022
Weekly Update 13 May 2022 Dear Friends, The UK Government's legislative programme for 2022-2023 was announced in the Queen's Speech in Parliament on Tuesday. In accordance with tradition the speech was written by the Government and it was read on this occasion by Prince Charles. It is curious that the speech did not explicitly mention the Government's plans to legislate contrary to the Northern Ireland Protocol to the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. Perhaps this was a tactful omission which…
EUROPE+4Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) in criminal matters in the UK and in developing countries: A scoping study
3rd March 2022
Organised crime causes a variety of issues ranging from social to economic, at both the micro and macro levels. In addition to the efforts to address crime within individual States, there is an ever-increasing need to be able to combat criminal activity that extends beyond national borders. Among the various instruments that assist States in this respect, Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA), is the formal means by which States cooperate by requesting and providing assistance to each other in…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSWeekly Update 18 February 2022
18th February 2022
Weekly Update 18 February 2022 Dear Friends, This week saw a significant milestone for the Rule of Law in the European Union. On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the EU upheld the validity of the regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget, rejecting arguments to the contrary by Hungary and Poland. The judgment means that the European Commission is finally free to adopt guidelines on the use of the regulation. This means the Commission…
CITIZENSHIP+3Weekly Update 11 February 2022
11th February 2022
Weekly Update 11 February 2022 Dear Friends, Rule of Law arguments continue to make the headlines. In a wide-ranging lecture entitled 'In democracy we trust?' to the Institute of Government on Thursday, the former Prime Minister Sir John Major stated that "The Prime Minister and our present Government not only challenge the law, but also seem to believe that they - and they alone - need not obey the rules". The continuing fallout from the "partygate" revelations for trust in the Government…
CITIZENSHIP+4Weekly Update 14 January 2022
14th January 2022
Weekly Update 14 January 2022 Dear Friends, A New Year, but not a fresh start, as the same Rule of Law story dominates the headlines: has the Government regarded itself as above the law that it has laid down for the rest of us? Two years on from the start of the pandemic, the Prime Minister apologised in the House of Commons on Wednesday for his attendance at a gathering in the 10 Downing Street garden at the height of the first lockdown on 20 May 2020. The affair may prove to be a stress…
EUROPE+1Weekly Update 17 December 2021
17th December 2021
Weekly Update 17 December 2021 Dear Friends, It has been a dramatic week. The UK Government's cavalier attitude to the Rule of Law was partly responsible for the collapse in the Prime Minister's political authority over his own MPs on Tuesday, as almost 100 of them voted against the latest Coronavirus measures, amidst mounting anxiety that the system for making such significant laws in a hurry is no longer fit for purpose. And the growing sense that the Government considers itself above…
CITIZENSHIP+8Weekly Update 10 December 2021
10th December 2021
Weekly Update 10 December 2021 Dear Friends, As England enters 'Plan B' restrictions in response to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, reports of a Christmas party at Downing Street last year when London was under 'Tier 3' restrictions on indoor gatherings have prompted commentators to ask a fundamental Rule of Law question: is there one rule for No 10 and another for the rest of the country? The affair is the latest in a string of events, which have been analysed by the Bingham Centre since…
EUROPE+2Expert analysis of the applicability of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights to the constitutional courts of the States Parties, requested by the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights in the context of the case K 6/21
22nd November 2021
Executive Summary This expert analysis considers the applicability of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to the constitutional courts of the States Parties. Article 6 ECHR guarantees the right to a fair trial before a tribunal established by law for individuals whenever their civil rights and obligations or criminal liabilities are in question. The States Parties to the Convention have explicitly granted the European Court of Human Rights the competence to interpret…
EUROPE+1Weekly Update 29 October 2021
29th October 2021
Weekly Update 29 October 2021 Dear Friends, In a week which saw the EU's Rule of Law stand-off with Poland come to a head, and the UK House of Commons debate for the first time the Government's Judicial Review and Courts Bill, we are reminded of how fundamentally important the Rule of Law is to the health and well-being of democratic societies. The invisible underpinning that it provides to democracy has been taken for granted for so long that we need to ensure that we remain vigilant…
CITIZENSHIP+3Weekly Update 22 October 2021
22nd October 2021
Weekly Update 22 October 2021 Dear Friends, This week, we held our first live panel discussion for 18 months - on the subject of Build Back Better: Online Civil Justice after the Pandemic. To examine the rapid spread of online court proceedings, and discuss their future after the pandemic, we worked with the City of London Corporation and the Magna Carta Trust to bring together a panel of distinguished speakers from the judiciary, legal profession and civil society. The event took…
CITIZENSHIP+3Submission to Closed Material Procedures Review
30th September 2021
Building on our project Opening Up Closed Judgments: Secrecy, Security and Accountability, the joint Bingham Centre and University of York submission made in June 2021 to Sir Duncan Ouseley's review of the use of Closed Material Proceedings sets out the serious Rule of Law concerns that CMPs continue to raise. The submission puts forward 14 substantive recommendations for reform to the current framework and procedures to ensure increased compliance with Rule of Law standards,…
JUSTICE SYSTEMS+1Prosecuting in the public interest: independence without isolation
17th September 2020
In an essay to accompany an event on 18 September with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, outlines what independence means for the Crown Prosecution Service in an extraordinary 2020 and beyond, and how it intersects with the Service's other values and responsibilities. Drawing on the experiences of the past six months, he considers what it means to remain independent while also being collaborative, responsive…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSSpecial Processes for the Reassessment and Removal of Judges in Constitutional Transitions
Jan van Zyl Smit | 31st July 2020
Societies in transition to constitutional democracy face a difficult choice when their courts are staffed with judges from a period of conflict or authoritarian rule. Should the existing judiciary be given security of tenure - the standard protection for judicial independence - or instead face a special process that will examine their past and possibly lead to the removal of those judges who are considered unwilling or unable to serve with integrity and competence in the new era? From…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSAmerica risks confusing the Rule of Law with Rule by Law
3rd June 2020
Last weekend Donald Trump proclaimed himself America's president of "law and order", going on to demand the protection of the "crown jewel of American democracy: the rule of law and our independent system of justice". Calls for the rule of law are a common refrain among Republican presidents, yet current events in the US present a vivid reminder of the need to strictly differentiate between rule of law, and rule by law. The preposition is key: "rule of law" requires equality before the law…
GOVERNMENT+1Instinct or rules: making moral decisions in the Cummings scandal
29th May 2020
This piece has been cross-posted with the kind permission of the UK Constitutional Law Association Blog. How should individuals conduct themselves during a public health emergency, and more specifically how much reliance should we have on "instinct" and "rules"? Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's chief adviser, has been accused of breaking the social distancing rules. The allegations revolve around travelling from London to Durham to isolate himself and his family, as…
GOVERNMENT+1Squaring the PSPP Circle: How a ‘declaration of incompatibility’ can reconcile the supremacy of EU law with respect for national constitutional identity
27th May 2020
The German Constitutional Court's PSPP judgment held that the Court of Justice of the European Union's Weiss judgment on the legality of Decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB) did not have legal effect within Germany because it lacks the 'minimum of democratic legitimation' necessary under the Basic Law. The merits of the judgment have been debated extensively . This contribution proposes a novel mechanism to resolve the exposed fault-line between the supremacy…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSUnity and Diversity in National Understandings of the Rule of Law in the EU (Reconnect deliverable 7.1)
4th May 2020
The working paper aims to show that the rule of law is not only one amongst the few overarching constitutional principles that can together be regarded as undergirding all legal systems in Europe, but it is also a constitutional principle whose core meaning is consensual and well-defined. The paper submits that there is now a broad legal consensus in Europe on the core meaning of this principle, its minimum components, and how it relates to other key values such as democracy and respect…
CITIZENSHIP+2Covid-19: When is a rule not a rule?
24th April 2020
There has been some confusion over the extent of the Government's legal powers in the Covid-19 lockdown, and the precise status of a "rule". There is a difference between regulation and legislation. Voermans argues that legislation is the constitutionally authoritative form in which law is made by the state. Regulation is much broader and means any public intervention in a market or in society. Legislation means banning smoking in enclosed public spaces. Regulation includes the…
GOVERNMENT+1Strengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice - Study 2016
Last Updated: 10th March 2020
Strengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice - Study 2016 Every two years, CEPEJ undertakes a regular process for evaluating judicial systems of the Council of Europe's member States. The Working Group on the evaluation of judicial systems (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL) which is in charge of the management of this process benefits from the support of scientific experts. Bingham Centre Maurice Wohl Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Julinda Beqiraj, contributed to the 2016 edition (2014…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSStrengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice in Kosovo*
Last Updated: 10th March 2020
Strengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice in Kosovo* In the framework of the Council of Europe's Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ)/European Union Joint Action on "Strengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice in Kosovo", the CEPEJ is supporting Kosovo authorities in improving access to justice and promoting timely justice functioning with a high level of quality. Special focus is put on judicial data collection and management, with the support…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSStrengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice in Albania (2018)
Last Updated: 10th March 2020
Strengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice in Albania (2018) In the framework of the Council of Europe's Commission on the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ)/European Union Joint Action on "Strengthening the efficiency and quality of Justice in Albania" and in the context of the on-going reform process of the judiciary, CEPEJ is supporting Albanian authorities to increase the efficiency of the justice system in line with European standards. The Bingham Centre…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSThe future of Europe (Bucharest)
Event Date: 31st October 2019
'The future of Europe' conference (Bucharest) Event - Tags Share Links Event - Timings and Location Overview Rule of Law backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe remains worrisome. Recently, the Venice Commission expressed serious concerns about ongoing judicial reform in Romania, while the European Commission has locked horns with Poland over Judicial appointments,…
GOVERNMENT+1Let’s not divide the Supreme Court into Leavers and Remainers: the need for a better understanding of our judiciary has never been greater
23rd September 2019
On 24 September 2019 the UK Supreme Court found unanimously that the Prorogation of Parliament was unlawful. The Judges have already been subjected to attacks on social media by the 'Leave.EU' campaign resorting to the notorious 'Enemies of the People' headline used by the Daily Mail in 2016. Before the judgment Jan van Zyl Smit (Senior Research Fellow and Acting Deputy Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law) argued that we should not divide the Supreme Court into Leavers…
EUROPE+1Data Protection Impact Assessments as Rule of Law Governance Mechanisms
3rd June 2019
Rule of Law principles are essential for a fair and just society, and apply to government activities regardless of whether those activties are undertaken by a human or automated data processing. This paper by Swee Leng Harris, Bingham Centre Senior Policy Adviser, explores how Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) could provide a mechanism for improved Rule of Law governance of data processing systems developed and used for public purposes. Applying Rule of Law principles to two…
DIGITAL AGE+1Judicial Vetting: The Forgotten Aspect of Argentina’s Transition
Marcos Zunino | 18th February 2019
This comment was first published on the Opinio Iuris blog on 18 February 2019. Argentina is a well-known case of transitional justice. From the pioneering 1984 truth commission and the prosecutions that had to be rolled back due to military backlash, to the expansive trials of crimes against humanity since 2005, Argentina's responses to the human rights violations of the 1976-83 dictatorship have been widely reported. However, there is one facet of the human rights policy adopted…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSBangalore Principles on the Domestic Application of International Human Rights Norms
Anthony Wenton | 31st January 2019
This Report was first published on the UK Human Rights Blog. Conference Report The evolution of international human rights law (IHRL) in the UN era has seen a paradigm shift away from a view of international law as applying solely to states and their relations with other states, to a focus on the rights of individuals and the duties states owe to citizens. As articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, certain rights are so fundamental as to be universal in scope based on our…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSAfter Poland's Attempted Purge of 'Communist-era' Judges, Do We Need New International Standards?
Jan van Zyl Smit | 15th January 2019
This comment was first published on the UK Constitutional Law Association blog in two parts, on 15 and 16 January 2019. For most of last year, the government of Poland maintained that legislation which effectively dismissed 27 Supreme Court judges (a third of the Court) by lowering the age of retirement was necessary to deal with the continued influence of the 'Communist-era' judiciary. A few judges who remained in office from before the 1989 transition were said to be responsible…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSJustice Week 2018
Jan van Zyl Smit | 31st October 2018
The regulators of lawyers in England and Wales run an annual campaign called 'Justice Week'. This initiative aims to boost the profile of justice and the rule of law, helping to place them at the centre stage of public and political debate. With many parts of the system at breaking point, now is the time to make a strong and clear case for why they are so fundamental to our society, economy and democracy. During the week the Bingham Centre convened politicians to discuss the rule of law…
CITIZENSHIP+1Ombudsman schemes and effective access to justice
Julinda Beqiraj | 15th October 2018
Access to justice is both a fundamental right in itself and a precondition for the enjoyment of other rights. Its conceptualisation requires the inclusion of dispute resolution mechanisms as part of both formal and informal justice institutions, especially in the wake of increasing awareness of the limitations of courts and tribunals as redress mechanisms. In 2018 the International Bar Association's Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee has commissioned the Bingham Centre for…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSAccess to Legal Aid in civil, administrative and family justice systems
Lucy Moxham | 30th September 2018
Bingham Centre collaboration with the International Bar Association (IBA) The IBA Bar Issues Commission and the IBA Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee undertook a comparative study to review access to legal aid in civil, administrative and family justice systems. The project originated from a very successful Legal Aid Roundtable in conjunction with the IBA Mid-Year Conference in May 2017 in Belfast. For Phase 1 of the project, the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law was commissioned…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSHow Reckless Judicial Impeachments Threaten Rule Of Law
Jan van Zyl Smit | 31st August 2018
This article was first published on 31 August 2018 by Law360.com under the title "How Reckless Judicial Impeachments Threaten Rule Of Law ". The article may not be reproduced without the original publisher's consent. Developments in West Virginia and other US State Courts What happens when legislators try to remove an entire Supreme Court bench? This is not a question about dictatorships or sham democracies. On 7 August 2018, the West Virginia House of Delegates voted to impeach all…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSSafeguarding the Rule of Law
28th August 2018
Published in The Washington Times on 28 August 2018 The Senate hearings to consider Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court will likely be among the most partisan this country has seen. In recent years, the process to both nominate and confirm candidates to the court has become polarizing to the point of dysfunctionality. This year the stakes are as high as they've ever been — the possibility of locking in a five-person conservative majority for years to…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSThe Polish government’s assault on judicial independence is part of a worldwide trend
2nd July 2018
In this op-ed piece, the Director of the Bingham Centre argues that the assault on judicial independence in Poland, with the passage of the Supreme Court Bill, is part of a global phenomenon, whereby populist leaders in a number of countries are steadily eroding the independence of the judiciary, which is a crucial aspect of the Rule of Law. Read the full Opinion piece in the Washington Post
JUSTICE SYSTEMSSupreme Court Justices from US, UK and Canada Speak on Judicial Independence
Murray Hunt | 14th June 2018
The Importance of Judicial Independence to the Rule of Law Panel discussion jointly organised by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and the New York City Bar. Speakers Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court Lord John Dyson, Former UK Supreme Court Justice and Master of the Rolls Justice Beverley McLachlin, Former Chief Justice of Canada Moderator Murray Hunt, Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law What is judicial independence? Why does it matter to the…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSSecuring Judicial Independence: The Role of Commissions in Selecting Judges in the Commonwealth
Jan van Zyl Smit | 1st December 2017
Editors: Hugh Corder and Jan van Zyl Smit This book brings together essays on the judicial selection practices in Canada, England and Wales, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa. Written by experts from each jurisdiction who participated in an international research project convened by the University of Cape Town Law Faculty and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, they provide the scholarly foundation for the Cape Town Principles, which are reproduced in the book together…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSThe Appointment of Judges by Independent Commissions in the Commonwealth
Jan van Zyl Smit | 1st December 2017
One of the most sensitive tasks in a constitutional democracy is the selection and appointment of judges. In contrast to the frequently confrontational US processes, or the 'tap on the shoulder' by a government minister that was the norm for so long in the UK and its former colonies, a 'third way' of appointing judges has become strikingly popular. This is to entrust the task to an independent Judicial Service Commission or Judicial Appointment Commission with a broad membership that…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSAccess to justice for persons with disabilities: From international principles to practice
Julinda Beqiraj , Lawrence McNamara | 31st October 2017
Approximately one billion people, or 15 per cent of the global population, experience some form of disability. Persons with disabilities face disproportionate socio-economic marginalisation, resulting in poorer health and medical treatment, lower quality of education, limited employment prospects and generally broad-ranging restrictions on their community participation. These negative outcomes are exacerbated by barriers to access to justice specifically experienced by persons with…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSAccess to Justice for Persons with Disabilities From International Principles to Practice
Julinda Beqiraj | 1st October 2017
Participants: Julinda Beqiraj, Lawrence McNamara, Victoria Wicks In 2018, the International Bar Association's Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee commissioned the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law to conduct an international study on access to justice for persons with disabilities and the challenges they face, whether as accused, victims, witnesses, or bearers of other interests. The resulting report explored how a rights-based approach grounded in effective access to justice could…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSOpinion on certain provisions of the draft Act on the Supreme Court of Poland
31st August 2017
A Bill which set out drastic changes to the tenure, disciplinary system and operating procedures of the Supreme Court was introduced by the Polish government in July 2017 and rushed through most of its legislative stages in a matter of days. This action sparked large-scale public protests before the President of Poland referred the Bill back to the legislature for reconsideration. The Director of the Bingham Centre, Murray Hunt, was one of a group of experts invited to analyse the Bill…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSJudicial Independence in Latin America
1st October 2016
This report examines some of the main ways legal systems can support and maintain judicial independence, a vital element of the Rule of Law. It considers the approach of Latin American jurisdictions in light of international principles. The report was written for a Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law conference, "Rule of Law Challenges in Latin America: Corruption and Judicial Independence", held in São Paulo in April 2016. It was presented as part of a panel discussion on judicial independence,…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSChildren and Access to Justice: National Practices, International Challenges
1st October 2016
The IBA's Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee has commissioned the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law to undertake research on main barriers to access to justice for children and good practices across jurisdictions in this area. The co-chair of the IBA Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff CBE, said: "This report, is designed to improve access to justice for children across the world, by identifying the barriers they face in different jurisdictions, but…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSCape Town Principles on the Role of Independent Commissions in the Selection and Appointment of Judges
Jan van Zyl Smit | 28th February 2016
What are the Cape Town Principles? One of the most sensitive tasks in a constitutional democracy is the selection and appointment of judges. In South Africa, the bulk of this work has been entrusted to the Judicial Service Commission that was established in 1994. Similar bodies now exist in many jurisdictions across the developed and the developing world. The Cape Town Principles are a set of principles that build on that international and comparative experience. They aim to provide practical…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSStrengthening the Quality and Efficiency of Justice
Julinda Beqiraj | 14th January 2016
Expert support to the activities of the Council of Europe's Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) was established by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2002, with the aim to improve the efficiency and functioning of justice in the member States and the implementation of the instruments adopted by the Council of Europe to this end. Its activities include preparation of benchmarks, data collection…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSJudicial Review and the Rule of Law: An Introduction to the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, Part 4
1st October 2015
Judicial review is a legal process by which individuals can challenge decisions made by public authorities on the basis that they are unlawful, irrational, unfair or disproportionate. It is a directly accessible check on abuse of power, a means of holding the executive to account, increasing transparency, and of providing redress when public agencies and central Government act unlawfully. In a country without a written constitution, it plays a particularly important role. The Criminal…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSInternational Access to Justice: Legal Aid for the Accused and Redress for Victims of Violence
1st October 2015
The International Bar Association (IBA) provides assistance to the global legal community with the aim of influencing the development of law reform and promoting the highest professional standards and the rule of law throughout the world. As part of that mission, the IBA Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee, formed in 2013, has undertaken and commissioned research into issues it sees as being of prime contemporary importance. This study, the Committee's second project, focuses…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSThe Appointment, Tenure and Removal of Judges under Commonwealth Principles: A Compendium and Analysis of Best Practice
15th July 2015
July 2015 An independent, impartial and competent judiciary is essential to the Rule of Law. This study considers the legal frameworks used to achieve this and examines trends in the 53 member states of the Commonwealth. It asks: who should appoint judges and by what process? what should be the duration of judicial tenure and how should judges' remuneration be determined? what grounds justify the removal of a judge and who should carry out the necessary investigation and inquiries?…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSInternational Access to Justice: Barriers and Solutions
1st October 2014
As part of a project funded by the International Bar Association's Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee, the Bingham Centre conducted an important international survey on barriers to access to justice and the attempts made to overcome them in different jurisdictions. The project aimed to analyse the extent to which individuals and groups in different countries are able to use formal and informal justice systems, legal services and dispute resolution mechanisms to solve their justice…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSStreamlining Judicial Review in a Manner Consistent with the Rule of Law
1st February 2014
Report by: Michael Fordham QC, Martin Chamberlain QC, Iain Steele and Zahra Al-Rikabi Judicial review is the mechanism by which the courts hold public authorities to account for the legality of their conduct. It is the reason we can be confident that Ministers and other public bodies will do what Parliament has authorised and required them to do, and act in accordance with their common law duties. It is the mechanism by which individuals and businesses are protected from official…
JUSTICE SYSTEMSThe Rule of Law in Burma/Myanmar
1st January 2013
The Bingham Centre has been engaged in a range of work relating to Burma (Myanmar) since early 2013. This has included several visits to the country, a major Constitutional Awareness project, publications about constitutional reform in Burma, and evidence to the UK House of Commons. The underlying philosophy and approach of the Bingham Centre's 2014-2015 project was that while there are international standards for constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law, there are different options…
JUSTICE SYSTEMS
A new instrument to uphold the Rule of Law in EU Member States: the ‘Regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget’ and its contested implementation
22nd January 2021
This piece has been cross-posted with permission from the RECONNECT blog, where it was first published on 19 January 2021. A survey commissioned by the European Parliament conducted in the 27 Member States shows that 77% of European Union (EU) citizens agree that EU funds should be made conditional upon the national government's implementation of the rule of law and of democratic values. On 16 December 2020, the EU adopted the "Regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the…
EUROPE+2