Category: Law Bits

Ninety-five percent of torture today is not for political prisoners

“Ninety-five percent of torture today is not for political prisoners; it is for people who are in broken-down legal systems,” says Karen Tse, founder of International Bridges to Justice.

 

A former public defender, Karen Tse developed an interest in the intersection of criminal law and human rights after observing Southeast Asian refugees held in a local prison without trial, often tortured to obtain “confessions.” In 1994, she moved to Cambodia to train the country’s first core group of public defenders. Under the auspices of the UN, she trained judges and prosecutors, and established the first arraignment court in Cambodia.

In 2000, Tse founded International Bridges to Justice to help create systemic change in criminal justice and promote basic rights of legal representation for defendants on the ground. Her foundation complements the work of witness groups, who do the equally vital work of advocacy, reports, photographs. Tse’s group helps governments build new systems that respect individual rights. In IBJ’s first years, she negotiated groundbreaking measures  in judicial reform with the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian governments. It now works in sixteen countries, including Rwanda, Burundi and India.

She says: “I believe it is possible to end torture in my lifetime.”

You can connect with IBJ via their Facebook page.

TED Talks are licensed under:  Creative Commons license Attribution – NonCommercial – NonDerivative (BY-NC-ND)

Legal Aid – legal representation for the needy

Legal aid provides help to people who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation or to gain access to the courts. Legal aid helps to ensure equality before the law, and to meet the right to counsel and to a fair trial.

The Daily Nation reports today:

Legal aid highly welcome

State-sponsored legal aid for the poor who cannot afford to hire lawyers is not a novelty in many countries. In fact, this kind of welfare activism has been in existence in the West since the mid-1900s, and it has caught on in many emerging democracies since then. But not so in Kenya. Legal aid is the assistance given to the individual if his or her financial circumstances do not allow the hiring of lawyers. Such lawyers are usually hired by the State for a specific purpose.

On Monday, Solicitor-General Njee Muturi announced the introduction of just such a measure through a Bill to be tabled in Parliament. Though it is still too early to speculate on the Bill’s contents, the important thing is that it is aimed at assisting the most vulnerable in society to access justice.

It is a fact that millions of Kenyans cannot afford legal fees. So when they are caught up in situations that require the expertise of lawyers, they lose out in almost all cases. Especially vulnerable are the poor caught up in criminal litigation. It is possible that thousands of Kenyans end up in prison due to ignorance, or because they cannot plead properly. This is justice denied that should not be allowed to continue.

Until such a law is passed, prisoners who cannot afford a lawyer rely on initiatives such as KCLF. As Advocates International puts it, “KCLF stands out as Advocates Africa’s leading example in the area of legal aid programs and legal representation for those in prison awaiting trial.”

IT CPD – and it’s legal

Is this the best value for CPD points? More importantly, are you interested in the intersection of the worlds of computers and law?

The Society for Computers and Law  is the leading UK organisation for legal professionals advising and practising within the IT sector.

SCL membership is currently only £95 a year and includes over 12 hours of free online CPD among its many benefits. Their online CPD scheme is accredited by the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales. In other countries of course you will need to check with your own governing body.