Justice and medias

International conference in Bucharest, June 21st and 22nd 2008, Media and justice, between ambiguity and cooperation.

The relation between the media and the justice is very complex, going from the mutual support to different forms of pressure. The situation is even more ambiguous in the so called new democracies from the Central and South Eastern Europe, where the media is often controlled, and the justice system – subject of politician's disputes. .

The goal of the conference is to discuss about the way the different countries are dealing with such sensitive issues like information trickling from the magistrates to the media representatives, the protection of witnesses by the journalists, the pressures exercised through the media on the magistrates, etc., analyzing the advantages and the risks of the most frequent practices in the field and stressing a set of principles that should be followed by both media and justice representatives.

Fighting against discrimination

International conference : “Fighting against discrimination – best practices and new challenges. A comparative approach in EU member states”
March 13 – 15, 2008
Iasi, Romania
Racial and ethnic discrimination in the enforcement of justice (Radu Chirita)
OSCE action plan
Discrimination on grounds of race and ethnic origin (Laura Curcio)
Female migrant workers in Greece (Evangelia Palaiogou)

Freedom of speech and association for judges and prosecutors

April 2008 : the President of the General Council of the Spanish Judicial Authority(CGPJ) requested that a disciplinary investigation be opened against the signatories of the Manifesto for a Rational Debate about Criminal Policy.
Medel took the initiative of a statement and sent a letter to the president of the CGPJ, to defend the principles of freedom of speech for judges and prosecutors.

See Medel's statement.

Justice, a Force of Democracy

MEDEL has celebrated its 20^th anniversary in Rome on May 20^th, 2005 with a colloquium organized by the High Council of the Italian Judiciary on the topic:
Justice, a Force of Democracy.

Some excerpts:

Contributions :
Medel yesterday, today and tomorrow (CH. Strecker)
State of necessity (concerning a securitarian attitude in recent legislation of western democracies, Lucas de Matteis)

Consequences of Criminal law

Consequences of Criminal law in Europe: Constitutional Freedoms

Against a Security Culture, colloquium organized at the National School of Magistracy (Bordeaux) on October 2^nd, 2004 by MEDEL in cooperation with “Avocats Européens pour la Démocratie” (European Lawyers for Democracy - AED).

The Program of the colloquium

The following text has been adopted after the colloquium:

“We, European citizens, magistrates, lawyers, syndical activists, members of various associations and social workers, gathered in

Bordeaux on this October 2^nd, 2004;

In a time of debate about the ratification of the European Constitution;

We condemn the security drift in a Europe in which Justice is considered as a tool of societal repression;

We reaffirm that the fundamental rights of citizens and the democratic freedoms will not be preserved unless there is a strict separation of power, a strong independence of the magistracy and a meticulous respect of the right to defence – the founding principles that are currently threatened in several European countries;

We call for resistance to the destruction of the Rule of Law and the Social State that constitute the identity of Europe;

We call for the construction of a Europe of openness and social progress”.

AED LDH MEDEL SAF SM

Report on a development of the Czech criminal procedure, Pavel Pinkavat, représentant du barreau de la République tchèque (En)

Protection of fundamental rights in Europe

Intervention of Miguel Carmona in Brussels (European parliament)
Intervention of Lavinia Lefterache in Pisa (AED conference, february 2008)