Global migration is pivotal to human societies and increasing at an exponential rate. As of 2020, the United Nations estimated there were approximately 281 million international migrants and that women, constituting approximately 48 percent of this population, are assuming an increasingly prominent role. Referred to as the feminisation of labour migration, the increase in women […]
Sometimes, even as events unfold, you can sense history weighting the present, writing events into our collective memory as deeply as chiselled stone. That was the momentous, breathless atmosphere that held sway as Judge Nawaf Salam, President of the International Court of Justice delivered the Court’s advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences Arising from the […]
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt its military operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah for the third time on May 24th. The Court’s directive was clear: Israel was to stop any military actions potentially leading to the physical destruction of Palestinians and ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian aid as […]
Will the Afghan victims’ suffering be acknowledged in the ICC’s courtrooms? The people of Afghanistan have endured decades of conflict and atrocities with little accountability. In light of the reluctance of both Afghanistan and the United States to conduct thorough investigations, many victims have turned to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a final recourse […]
Seventy-six years after World War II (WWII), the world is still trying to soothe the wounds of those affected by the tragic manifestations of evil that the world witnessed during that time. While justice delayed does not always imply justice denied,[1] sexual violence during the war has, to this day, not been adequately addressed. One […]
Just Access Director, Professor Mark Somos, is proud to have joined Scholars Without Borders (SWB), a new programme at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. SWB aims to support scholars from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus affected by the war, both those directly impacted by the destruction in Ukraine, and those who’ve had […]
In the last sixty years, there has been a remarkable increase in international courts and tribunals established by states through international or supranational bodies.[1] These institutions have been entrusted with the task of adjudicating cross-border matters, resulting in what has been called the “legalization of world politics”.[2] These various courts and tribunals have not only […]
On July 17th, we commemorate a significant milestone that symbolizes our commitment to justice and the protection of human rights worldwide. It is the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998, the foundational treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). This treaty holds immense importance in safeguarding individuals from the most […]
During the 8th Asia-Pacific Victims of Corruption (VoC) meeting, Piseth Duch, the founder of the business and human rights law group, presented the legal standing of VoCs with regard to Cambodia. While his presentation initially provided a robust legal framework for facing corruption at the national level in Cambodia, two case studies proved otherwise. For […]
By a kind invitation from Sabina Grigore member of Just Access and The League of Romanian Students Abroad, Just Access joins the conference “Future of European Law and Society”. The conference is organised with the support of the Department for Romanians Everywhere and held in the European Parliament in Brussels on 23 June 2023. Our […]
Food security exists when “all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life”1. Today, nearly 800 million people lack adequate access to food, more than 2 billion people suffer from deficiencies of essential micronutrients, and […]
Sanctions are a powerful foreign policy tool. However, when it comes to matters of corruption, the European Union (EU) still lacks a consistent policy in order to deter individuals and larger entities from abusing their power. Nevertheless, the EU is currently working on a directive meant to strengthen its anti-corruption practices, both within Europe and beyond, […]
This article critically analyzes the activity of the International Criminal Court (ICC), highlighting several areas which are in need of improvement, among which one can count the outreach to civil society and victims, the transparency of the Court’s activities and, or the case prioritization strategies. It emphasizes the need for the ICC to address these […]
‘If humanitarian intervention is indeed an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica – to gross and systematic violations of human rights that offend every precept of our common humanity?’ -Kofi Annan, UN General Assembly 2000 Following a grim decade of global powerlessness in which the international community […]
Between 5 and 10 December 2022, the Just Access Representative to the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Zinovia Verikokidi, had the pleasure of participating in the 21st annual session of the Assembly of States Parties (the Assembly/ASP21) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), held at the World Forum Convention Center […]
Food security exists when “all people, at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life”1. Today, nearly 800 million people lack adequate access to food, more than 2 billion people suffer from deficiencies of essential micronutrients, and […]
1. Introduction Many thanks to the Centre for Religion, Human Values, and International Relations; the Irish Council of Churches; CREATE; and PACE for convening this important event, for inviting Just Access, and for the thoughtful and clear discussion paper and concept note on multilateralism and methodology. 2. Human rights and responsibilities Faith and […]
Our legal intern, Luca Brocca, discusses the importance of youth activism events and organisations and how they contribute to improve access to justice. In this blog post, he suggests that “more attention should be paid to student-authored resolutions and documents at the national and European level. Across Europe, youth activism programmes are organised to raise awareness of […]
Our Legal Intern, Luca Brocca, writes about e-Justice and how technology both improves and hampers access to justice by investigating legal precedents at both national and EU level Technology can increase the efficiency and transparency of the justice system and make it easier for individuals to access justice. However, it also risks undermining access to […]
A year ago, Just Access published an analysis1 pointing to the abuse of EU’s accession procedural rules committed by Bulgaria’s blocking of the opening of the negotiations for North Macedonia’s EU membership. It argued that: 1) by de facto and arbitrarily vetoing North Macedonia’s bid to access the EU, Bulgaria violated the bilateral “Treaty of […]
In 2020 Maat for Peace and Development and Human Rights and Just Access submitted UN comments on Yemen’s ICCPR review, innovatively proposing that it applied to Houthis, non-State actors recognised as ‘de facto authorities’ with functional responsibilities, including for indiscriminate drone attacks. Read it here: https://bit.ly/35pPEVK Maat’s landmark new study confirms and greatly expands this […]
Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights and Just Access e.V. submit jointly the following comments for the consideration of the Human Rights Committee (CCPR) in relation to its Concluding Observations concerning Qatar’s Initial Report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Qatar ratified the ICCPR in 2018, […]
This post focuses on the issue of regular encounters with law enforcement authorities that lead to police stops, arrests and police custody, during which the fundamental human rights of the detainees are increasingly being violated. It highlights that specific categories of population are especially more frequently exposed to coercive treatment. Although there is a global […]
This post focuses on the issue of regular encounters with law enforcement authorities that lead to police stops, arrests and police custody, during which the fundamental human rights of the detainees are increasingly being violated. It highlights that specific categories of population are especially more frequently exposed to coercive treatment. Although there is a global […]
After a violent internal conflict, or in the context of transitioning from an authoritarian regime to democracy, one of the main hurdles that victims of violence face in order to have access to justice is the existence of amnesty laws. These can be either ‘self-amnesty laws’, adopted by an incumbent regime in order to avoid […]
The United Nations Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law held its third session on “Equal Access to Justice for All: a Necessary Element of Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights Protection” on the 16-17 November in Geneva. Just Access co-organised a side event to the session, together with Maat for […]
An introduction to ESG through investor/shareholder activism For giant corporations and businesses around the globe, climate justice goals have often reflected less of a conscious accountability towards the larger issue of environmental rights and more of a strategic matter of regulatory compliance at best. Although concerns on sustainable investment practices and carbon output by […]
On 18-22 October 2021 in Geneva the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will hold its 69th Pre-Sessional Working Group to start the process of reviewing States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (“ICESCR”), one of the most important core human rights treaties.[1] The forthcoming ICESCR compliance […]
This initiative of the European Commission “Hate speech & hate crime – inclusion on list of EU crimes” aims to expand the list of EU crimes to include hate speech and hate crime. Here is our feedback to the roadmap: Just Access e.V., a German NGO focused on access to justice, welcomes the initiative to […]
Using the opportunity to influence the shaping of laws and policies of the European Commission, today we submitted our feedback on the roadmap for 2021 EU Justice Scoreboard. We are conveying our feedback integrally: Just Access, a registered German NGO focused on access to justice, applauds the EU Justice Scoreboard, including its section 3.2.1 specifically […]
