domestic courts – Page 4 – International Justice Resource Center

Documentation, Local Prosecutions Advance Accountability for War Crimes in Syria

May 12, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, civil society, domestic courts, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, internationalized criminal tribunals, right to life, torture

Germany recently began its first prosecution for alleged war crimes in Syria, joining the several States and private actors seeking accountability for atrocities committed in the ongoing conflict in Syria. [The New Arab] Despite the lack of a final peace agreement, human rights experts are encouraging State governments to take steps to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes

April News from IJRC

April 29, 2016 IJRC domestic courts, IJRC Newsletter, IJRC Updates, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, regional human rights protection, Universal system

We are pleased to share with you an overview of the latest human rights developments and a summary of IJRC’s recent activities, in this April 2016 edition of the IJRC newsletter. Click here to open the newsletter in PDF.

ECtHR: No Violation in Police Killing of London Bombing Suspect

April 12, 2016 IJRC domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, extrajudicial executions, international human rights, right to life, security & rule of law

On March 30, 2016 the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that the United Kingdom had fulfilled its procedural obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to conduct an effective investigation into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by government agents, who wrongly suspected him of terrorist activity. See

Human Rights Committee: Australia Violated Guantanamo Transferee’s Right to Liberty

February 23, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, reparations, security & rule of law, U.S. courts, UN treaty bodies

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found Australia in violation of the right to liberty protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) due to its continued detention of Guantanamo Bay prisoner David Hicks following his transfer to Australia, despite evidence that the American military proceedings against him had been unfair. See UN Human Rights Committee, Hicks v. Australia,

Guatemala Prosecutes Soldiers For Sexual Slavery During Civil War

February 16, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international criminal law, international human rights, torture, women's rights

A landmark trial of former Guatemalan soldiers for crimes against humanity commenced this month before the country’s High Risk Court A (Tribunal de Mayor Riesgo A). In 2014, the State arrested and charged former Sepur Zarco base commander Lieutenant Colonel Esteelmer Reyes Giron and former military commissioner Heriberto Valdez Asij with acts of sexual violence, sexual slavery, murder, and forced

AfCHPR Hosts 2nd Continental Judicial Dialogue: “Connecting National and International Justice”

November 3, 2015 IJRC African System, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, international human rights, internationalized criminal tribunals, judicial independence, progressive development of law

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), European Union (EU), World Bank, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are sponsoring the 2nd Continental Judicial Dialogue, entitled “Connecting National and International Justice” from November 4 to 6, 2015 in Arusha, Tanzania. The dialogue will bring together members of national, regional, and continental courts and human rights bodies

IACHR Report Highlights Human Rights Violations at Guantanamo and Urges Closure

August 17, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, children, civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, family, freedom of religion, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, privacy, regional human rights protection, reparations, right to life, security & rule of law, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies

On August 5, 2015, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published its report “Towards the Closure of Guantanamo,” which examines the human rights situation of detainees at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Towards the Closure of Guantanamo (Report), 2015. The report concludes that detainees are subject to indefinite detention; torture and

14 States’ Human Rights Records Examined in Universal Periodic Review

May 14, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, children, civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, family, freedom of religion, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, interim measures, international human rights, international humanitarian law, judicial independence, labor rights, LGBTI rights, liberty & security of person, military and humanitarian intervention, persons with disabilities, privacy, progressive development of law, property, reparations, reproductive and sexual rights, right to life, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, transitional justice, Universal Periodic Review, women's rights

The Human Rights Council is close to concluding its 22nd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group which began on May 4 and will conclude on May 15, 2015 to examine 14 States’ human rights records. [OHCHR Press Release] During these Working Group discussions, UN Member States are reviewing the human rights practices of Belarus, Liberia, Malawi, Mongolia,

ECtHR Finds Violation of Respect for Family Life in Surrogacy Case

February 9, 2015 IJRC children, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, family

On January 27, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy, reaffirming the State obligation to prioritize the best interest of the child when determining guardianship arrangements. See ECtHR, Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy, no. 25358/12, Judgment of 27 January 2015 (French only). The Court held that the State had violated Article

Former Guatemalan Police Chief Convicted for Spanish Embassy Siege

January 22, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international criminal law, liberty & security of person, security & rule of law, universal jurisdiction

On January 19, a Guatemalan court found Pedro García Arredondo, a former police chief, guilty of murder and crimes against humanity for his role in authorities’ attack on the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City in 1980. In this attack, 37 protesters burned to death when the Spanish embassy building caught fire and García Arredondo ordered the building to be sealed