On June 25, 2024, the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, presented her thematic report on protecting the independence of judicial systems in the face of contemporary democratic challenges at the fifty-sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council. The report addressed the role of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, including community justice workers, in protecting democracy.
This report followed an open call to civil society, member states, and regional and international organizations to contribute their unique and diverse experiences, evidence, research findings, and insights on the topic. The Special Rapporteur documented her report with numerous contributions as references that helped clarify her perspectives and understanding of the issues.
SHOAA for Human Rights contributed to the report by providing an account of the active role of the Collective for the Defense of Hirak Detainees and how they played effective and exemplary roles in protecting democracy and supporting fundamental democratic rights in Algeria, and how lawyers face challenges, risks, and obstacles when performing their role in protecting democracy. This report included detailing violations, arrests, and legal pursuits against lawyers and pressures from lawyer syndicates, influenced by the authorities, leading to disciplinary files and threats of criminal prosecution due to their activities defending Hirak detainees. The report also exposed legal breaches in the condemnation of Hirak activists for exercising their right to peaceful expression and protest, and also for demanding respect for human rights and building the rule of law. Additionally, it revealed how defense lawyers were stigmatized by the authorities and their media arms, labeled as traitors and foreign agents, isolating them and deterring citizens from seeking their services in general law cases for fear of losing their cases and judicial retaliation against their clients.
Special Rapporteur’s Conclusions and Recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur concluded her report with findings and recommendations, urging states and all justice system actors – judges and judicial associations, prosecutors, lawyers and bar associations, and criminal justice activists – to take a public stance supporting judicial independence, separation of powers, rule of law, and participatory governance. Drawing lessons from the contributions, she offered recommendations directly aimed at justice system actors:
Recommendations to the Judiciary:
- Be vigilant of government-imposed changes that may undermine judicial independence and separation of powers.
- Scrutinize administrative or regulatory decisions that seem to reward or punish judicial behavior based on political criteria.
- Adopt protective measures and transparent rules regarding case allocation (randomly, where possible), appointment of chambers, or other resources.
- Carefully examine cases involving allegations or suspicions of improper administration of justice.
- Enhance opportunities for local communities to participate in court processes, including expanding public session spaces, publishing accessible case summaries, live streaming, and forming stakeholder groups to monitor judgment implementation, especially in cases of public interest or significant impact.
Recommendations to Lawyers and Bar Associations:
- Protect the freedom of expression and association for lawyers, opposing attempts to suppress legal and ethical speech and expressive activities.
- Ensure coordination among multiple bar associations within a country to align their approaches on key issues related to the legal profession and its relationship with the state, to avoid undermining the authority and influence of bar associations.
- Clarify that lawyers should never face criminal charges for practicing their profession in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards, and ethics.
**Read the full report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, click here:
**Read SHOAA full report on the escalation of prosecutions against lawyers defending detainees of the Hirak movement in Algeria, click here:
