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Press
Release
Egyptian judges and jurists calling for disseminating of
the international conventions and charters ratified by Egypt and
distributing of them among judges of the courts
Yesterday,
the activities of the forum organized by the Arab Center for the
Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP) in
cooperation with the International Bar Association (IBA), on “Brining
about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”, was
concluded with a financial assistance of the European Union, and it
continued from July 29th to 31st 2008 in Sharm El
Sheikh.
25 judges and
jurists,
from either the ordinary
courts or judges of the State Council, in addition to international
jurists from the Board of the
College of Law (England) and the Scottish Human Rights Commission
(Scotland)
The forum addressed the
rights mentioned the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, particularly the right to life and right to physical integrity
and the right to freedom of opinion and expression and dealt also with
the human rights in details in the field of justice administration and
fair trials.
Through what has been
occurred in the forum and the subsidiary working groups, participants
reached a range of proposals and recommendations for the protection of
the rights mentioned in the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, like for example:
Regarding the right to physical integrity, participants
recommended:
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The need for effective judicial
oversight on the places of detention and prisons
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Raise awareness on the right to
physical integrity for the persons who are in charge of law
enforcement like: police officers and persons who are engaged in the
prisons and detention headquarters. And educate them on texts of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and their
places in the domestic legislation in addition to the State's
obligation to this Covenant and any violation of rights set forth by
the State represents a breach of treaty’s obligations.
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Aggravate the penalty of the crime of
torture that committed by public servants against of individual
citizens.
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The Egyptian parliament should pass a
law defied the crime of torture, provided that the definition
adopted for this crime should be the same under the Convention
against Torture and other cruel or degrading treatment or degrading
treatment.
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The need to pass legislation provides
for the need that each accused must have a lawyer at all stages of
criminal proceedings, in particular the phase of detention; as the
person may face torture or cruel or degrading treatment in this
phase.
Regarding the protection of guarantees of fair and just
trial, the participants recommended:
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The need to disseminate the covenants
and conventions ratified by the State, particularly the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and distribute
them among the judges in the Egyptian courts.
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Necessity to activate the legislative
texts on a person's right to resort to the natural judge, and not to
trial civilians before military courts.
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Narrow the scope of the provisions of
preventive detention, and replace them with other alternatives that
do not affect a person's right to freedom and personal safety. In
addition, provide compensation to the persons in preventive custody
until making sure of their innocence. As well as publishing the
verdict of their innocence in two daily newspapers at the expense of
the state.
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The need for the equality between
defense and prosecution at all stages of criminal proceedings.
Allow the
concerned institutions of civil society to monitor all stages of
criminal proceedings to ensure transparency and openness. |
