Announcements
Request for Urgent Action on Behalf of Chinese Human Rights Lawyers
Two Beijing lawyers are about to be permanently disbarred for their human rights work in China. HRLF urges human rights advocates to take immediate action on behalf of these lawyers.
Attorneys Tang Jitian and Liu Wei represented Falun Gong practitioners before Chinese courts. They faced harassment and were denied access to justice for these activities. Attorney Wei described the situation thus: "When we entered the courts, a group of unidentified personnel tried to shoo us away. We refused because they were not members of the court, and had no right to chase us away. The judge refused to let us deliver our defense."
After being forced to withdraw from the court because the judge would not allow them to put on their case, Jitian and Wei received a letter chiding them for disrupting the court.
Half a year after appearing in court on behalf of Falun Gong plaintiffs, Jitian and Wei received official notices informing them that they allegedly violated No. 49(1) of the Chinese Lawyer Code, and that their licenses will be suspended. The notice claimed that they disrupted social order, interfered with normal court activities, and violated Chinese laws.
Jitian and Wei will have the opportunity to appear before a judge and defend themselves on April 22, 2010. If their appeal to the court is unsuccessful, they will become the first lawyers in China to be disbarred for representing Falun Gong practitioners.
The disbarment and ill treatment of attorneys who defend plaintiffs whose human rights have been violated is a serious problem in China. Jitian and Wei’s case is just one example of a widespread practice of issuing reprisals against human rights lawyers in China. According to Human Rights Watch, the Chinese regime’s “claims to be committed to a rule of law are . . . undermined by a plethora of physical attacks on lawyers that remain unpunished.” (Human Rights Watch, “A Great Danger for Lawyers”: New Regulatory Curbs on Lawyers Representing Protestors, available at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china1206/2.htm.) In addition, “local authorities often deploy a wide range of tactics to obstruct the work of lawyers, including unlawful detentions, disbarment, intimidation, and simply refusing to accept a case into the court system.” (Id.)
China’s actions against human rights lawyers directly contravene the guarantees in the U.N. Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. It also violates Chinese Law.
HRLF expresses concerns about this situation and calls for swift and decisive action by the Chinese government, as well as the international community, on this matter.
Connie Smead Fellowship
Each year, HRLF awards the Connie Smead Human Rights Fellowship to a recent law graduate with a record of excellence in the area of international human rights law. This year's recipient is Arianne Plasencia.
More information on the Connie Smead Fellowship
Spanish Indictment
Defendants Jiang Zemin (former President of China), Luo Gan (Coordinator of the 610 Office), Bo Xilai (former Chinese Minister of Commerce), Jia Qinglin (President of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference), and Wu Guanzheng (President of the Chinese Communist Party’s Disciplinary Commission) have been indicted and must answer letters rogatory issued by Judge D. Ismael Moreno of the National Spanish Court. The accused are responsible for the crimes of genocide and torture against thousands of followers of the Chinese spiritual belief Falun Gong. As a result of Judge Moreno’s order, the accused may now be extradited to Spain to stand trial for their perpetration of and involvement in these crimes.
The opinion of Judge Moreno is the result of several years of fact collection and investigation of the crimes of genocide and torture denounced by HRLF in the complaints against these five leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. HRLF Attorney Carlos Iglesias argued the case in Spain. The facts in the complaint came from reports written by HRLF, as well as from numerous pieces of documentary evidence. Based on this evidence, the Judge decided that the allegations constitute crimes of genocide and torture and that Spain may exercise its universal jurisdiction over the perpetrators of such crimes. According to Spanish procedure, if the accused travel to any country with which Spain has an extradition treaty, they may be extradited to Spain, where their trial will begin. At the conclusion of such trial, the accused may be punished criminally, by depriving them of their freedom, and civilly, by paying economic damages for the injuries they caused to the victims.
More information and court documents
Cases Filed
HRLF's legal initiatives include:
(1) Direct Litigation in Spain, the United States, and Europe; and
(2) Global Legal Assistance in cases filed throughout the world.
Expert Commentary
The expert commentaries included on this website are important because as Ronald Dworkin aptly notes, a "judge needs a constitutional philosophy [or interpretative approach] to decide what the law is." In other words, both the body of law and a constitutional or interpretative approach are essential to the effective practice of human rights law.
The commentaries included on the link below are but a part of an ongoing exploration of the practice of international law and of the interpretative approaches and philosophies that enable us to best meet the particular challaneges we face as legal practitioners and, perhaps also, as judges.
Coming Soon
© Human Rights Law Foundation 2010
DISCLAIMER: The information on this Web site is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice and assistance from your lawyer. We recommend that you discuss your plans with your lawyer before proceeding with resolution of a legal matter.