Haldane Joins IADL in Condemnation of Israeli Attack on Gaza

The Haldane Society has endorsed the following statement by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers

IADL condemns in the strongest possible terms the bombing and attacking of civilians in the West Bank and Gaza and cals upon the international community to demand an end to this offensive and hold Israel accountable.

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers, a non-governmental organization with consultative status at ECOSOC and other UN agencies condemns as gross violations of international humanitarian law the bombing of civilians and civilian objects in Gaza; in particular the targeting of homes, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure. IADL also condemns the attacks on civilians in West Bank including the specific targeting of leaders of political parties and the resumption of massive home demolitions.  This is the third major bombing attack on Gaza since Israel removed its settlements there in 2005 and imposed the siege which has lasted many years.

IADL demands that the bombing be stopped and that the international community must hold Israel and its ally the United States accountable for these war crimes.

Ten years ago the International Court of Justice in its “Advisory Opinion on the “Legal Consequences of the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” declared the construction of the wall to be illegal under international law. The Court decided that Israel could not claim it had to build the wall in “self-defense” as the Palestinians constitute a people under Israeli occupation and are therefore not a "foreign" threat for the purposes of Article 51 of the UN Charter.  For the same legal reasons, Israel cannot claim that the bombing of Gaza is “self-defense” as the Palestinians have a right to resist illegal occupation.

IADL believes that these bombings of civilians are crimes against humanity as they are inhuman acts against a civilian population in connection with a crime against peace. Additionally they are illegal collective punishment and violate the laws of war regarding proportionality.

IADL calls upon the international community to hold Israel responsible for grave violations of international law.

Haldane Endorses LPHR Complaint to the UN

Download the letter (pdf).

Socialist Lawyer 67 out soon!

Free Lecture and Film: The State of Unpeace in the Philippines

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines and Amnesty International invite you to hear Cristina Ellazar Palabay on "The State of Unpeace in the Philippines" together with a film on the struggle against Glencore-Xstrata's Tampakan mining project, potentially forcing 4,000 people from their homes. Other speakers include Anna Morris, Vice-Chair Haldane Society, and CHRP.

Monday 30th June 2014, 6.30pm - 8.30pm at the Conference Room, Amnesty International, Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA.

Cristina is Secretary General of Karapatan, the Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples' Rights in the Philippines: http://www.karapatan.org. Karapatan and Cristina were heavily involved in delivering relief for victims of the typhoon despite having to endure government violations of human rights, its counter-insurgency programme and government corruption.

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense of people’s rights and civil liberties. It  firmly believes that...

• Human rights should be respected in all its dimensions – civil and political, economic, social and cultural.
• Basic rights to life, humane treatment, and due process should be preserved at all times.
• The people has the right to be free from all forms of oppression and exploitation.
• A repressive state which serves the interests of a few oppressors and exploiters are the worse violator of human rights.
• The struggle of the Filipino people for national liberation and social emancipation provides the framework for human rights advocacy.
• Human rights advocacy must be biased for the interest of the oppressed classes, sectors, and groups.
• Human rights advocacy is integral to the struggle of the peasants for land, the workers for national industrialization and decent living and working conditions, the women against exploitation and discrimination, the indigenous peoples for self-determination, the poor for basic social services, and the youth for access to education and other venues for growth and development.

Free admission. No need to reserve in advance. More details: www.haldane.org and http://www.chrp.org.uk/.

Haldane Society Condemns Death Threats Against Vice-President Phil Shiner and His Family

Phil Shiner has been subject to intimidation and harassment over the last 10 years as a result of his work for Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) and their cases representing Iraqis in war crimes cases.

Recently, Phil and PIL have worked on a number of issues including the Al Sweady Inquiry relating to Iraqi detainees, non-nationals receiving legal aid for judicial review cases and the decision by the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes by the UK in Iraq.

As a result of his human rights advocacy work, Phil has experienced threats and intimidation for nearly 10 years, with, at one stage, a police investigation launched into the threats and a 2010 threat that led to a prosecution under the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

We understand that, as a result of a recent rise in the negative media attention paid to PIL, Phil has received an increasing number of abusive emails and phone calls.

The Haldane Society salutes the pioneering work carried out by Phil and PIL. Without their work, there would have been no recognition that Baha Mousah died as a result of assaults by British troops, that the British government’s obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 extend to its actions abroad, and there would have been no justice for the victims and families of victims of human rights abuses committed by British troops. We are proud that Phil is a Vice-President of the Haldane Society and regularly gives lectures to our members and students.

We call on the police and CPS to ensure Phil Shiner’s safety and that of his family.

Congratulations to Kate Markus, Appointed Upper Tribunal Judge

The Haldane Society congratulates Kate Markus, QC, on her appointment as an Upper Tribunal Judge and notes her resignation as Vice-President of the Society. Kate was Chair of the Haldane Society in the early 1990s. Kate led the Haldane Society delegations to the historic IADL Congress in Cape Town in 1996 and also led a delegation to El Salvador and Guatamala at the end of El Salvador's civil war. She took part in a number of other international delegations.

Kate's commitment and energy resulted in the Society's profile raised generally and particularly amongst legal aid practitioners. She was simultaneously chair of the Law Centres Federation.

Kate has been a Honorary Vice-President of the Society since 2010. We wish her all the best as a Judge.

Haldane Archives Now Available at LSE Library

The Haldane Society’s archives are kept at the LSE Library. Access is available to members of the public. Details are here http://archives.lse.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=HALDANE+SOCIETY

Information on using the reading room at the LSE Library is here http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/usingTheLibrary/accessingMaterials/readingRoomAccess/home.aspx.

A more detailed survey list is available on request.

Documents from the Birth of Legal Aid

At a time when Legal Aid is being destroyed by the government, the Haldane Society has unearthed a report prepared by the Society in 1948, on the Legal Aid Bill then going through Parliament.

Download the file (foolscap, PDF).

With or Without the CBA, the Fight Continues

The Haldane Society condemns the decision of the CBA, without reference to its members, to purport to suspend the industrial action taken by criminal barristers against the government's attacks on legal aid.  Criminal barristers within the Haldane Society take the view that it is not for the leadership of the CBA to tell our profession whether or not we will take action in solidarity with our comrades in the solicitors profession, and within the civil bar.  If there is to be any suspension of further action, it should be a decision of the members of the profession taken at a general meeting at which all are free to attend, so that the matter can be discussed openly. 

The concessions offered by Grayling are pitiful in comparison to what we stand to gain by remaining united.  Simply delaying the introduction of certain cuts to barristers' fees is insufficient.  We demand the end to all government cuts to legal aid.  This is achievable.  Mere days ago Grayling described the cuts as being written in stone.  Now they are up for negotiation.  Further action will compel him to compromise further.  We can defeat these cuts.  All we need is solidarity.

Ending this struggle merely because some of our fees are secure plays into the hands of those who would call us fat cats.  This struggle has never merely been about our fees.  It is about access to justice.  This is still under threat from the Grayling cuts.  Our job is to serve the communities for whose rights we fight.  This retreat by the CBA is letting the public down.  Our clients' fights for justice don't stop at the criminal bar: their access to justice will be impeded without solicitors to help them through the gateway to justice, and without civil practitioners to obtain remedies for injustices done, and to challenge unlawful government decisions.  To truly win, we must stand firm, in solidarity with comrades throughout the legal profession and beyond. 

The Haldane Society continues to support the action to be taken on 31 March and 1 April by the solicitors profession and probation workers.  We also continue to support any and all action against the cuts, including further withdrawal of labour by barristers.

The fight continues.  If the CBA will not lead it, then someone else will.