What is the Eminent Jurists'Panel?
The Eminent Jurists’ Panel is composed of eight internationally-renowned jurists (see biographies) from all regions and legal traditions. The Panel is chaired by Arthur Chaskalson, Former Chief Justice of South Africa and the first President of South Africa’ new Constitutional Court. The Panel has been mandated to consider the nature of today’s human rights threats and the impact of new and old counter-terrorism measures on human rights. The Panel is also exploring how considered counter-terrorism measures and policies can produce effective results while also assuring the necessary respect for human rights and the rule of law. The International Commission of Jurists in Geneva is responsible for coordinating the work of the Panel.
As part of the mandate as a result of the Berlin Declaration during the scheduled 18-month period in 2006 and 2007, the Panel will:
- Listen to past and present experiences of cycles of terrorism and counter-terrorism in a series of national and regional hearings in ** countries ranging from Colombia to Malaysia (see map and scheduled list of countries) in different parts of the world.
- Meet three times in plenary
- Seek meetings with government and security officials who shape or implement counter-terrorism policies
- Invite submissions from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) , lawyers, judges, academics, national human rights institutions, the media, governmental authorities and inter-governmental organizations
- Engage in discussion with ICJ’s global network (see list of members www.icj.org) of judges, lawyers, prosecutors and human rights defenders
- Stimulate public debate on critical issues through the media in different languages
- Produce a final and detailed report with recommendations, which the ICJ will seek to have translated into French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. This is intended to guide ICJ advocacy for the next phase of its Global Security and Rule of Law Programme
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