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April 2018
CLA, CLEA and CMJA issue a Statement in Support
of the Judiciary in Seychelles. Click
here for the Statement.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM),
London
The CMJA was represented at the Commonwealth
Fora held in the wings of the CHOGM by Dr Karen
Brewer Secretary General. Dr Brewer made contributions
from the floor at the Women's
Forum. In addition, the CMJA, as a member of the
Latimer House Working Group was involved in the Panel
session at the People's
Forum (civil society) on Separation of Powers,
Former Director of Studies and member of the Working
Group, Hon. Keith Hollis spoke ont the panel about the
importance of ensuring that the Commonwealth Latimer
House Toolkit was used out by Commonwealth governments
and about the importance of protecting judicial officers
at the lower level who are not covered by constitutional
norms. Other panellists included, Lady Hale, President
of the UK Supreme Court who spoke about the importance
of diversity in judicial appointments and a system based
on merit, The Rt. Hon. Angelo Farrugia, Speaker of the
Malta Parliament who spoke about the importance of an
independent parliament with its own resources. Mrs Cheryl
Dorall. Commonwealth Journalists Association stressed
the role of the media as an oversight mechanism in the
separation of powers. The session was chaired by Mr
Mark Guthrie, Acting Head of the Rule of Law Section
of the Commonwealth Secretariat. We are grateful to
Mrs Katherine Eden Haig, former CEO and Secretary General
of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association for all her
assistance with the organisation of this session with
the Commonwealth Foundation.
CMJA Council Member from Canada, Justice Lynne Leitch,
was appointed to the First Advisory Board of the Global
Judicial Integrity Network
which was launched in Vienna. Austria on 9-10 April
2018.
The CMJA former Director of Studies, Hon. Keith Hollis,
organised a Panel Session on behalf of the CMJA at the
Conference launching the Global Judicial Integrity
Network on "A Trade-Off? Balancing Independence
and Accountability" . Panellists
included Justice Charles Mkandawire, Council member
for Malawi and Justice Lynne Leitch. Reporting back,
Justice Mkandawire indicated that the session had been
extremely well attended and the issues raised, in particular
the status of magistrates and the need to follow due
process to be followed when disciplining judicial officers
were of particular concern to those participating.
March 2018
CMJA holds a Training Course on Case Management,
Judicial Ethics and Independence for judges and
magistrates in Banjul, The Gambia from 20-22
March 2018. The CMJA is the first organisation to run
a Commonwealth programme in Banjul since they re-joined
on 8 February 2018. We are very grateful to the UK Cabinet
Office, especially the Commonwealth Summit 2018 Unit
and the British High Commission in Banjul for all their
support of this programme. Click
here to see the video
February 2018
CMJA held its second Training Course on Case
Management and Judicial Ethics jointly with the
UK Civil Service College. Judicial Officers from Singapore,
England and Wales, Isle of Man, Ghana and Barbados.
CLA, CLEA and CMJA issue a Statement
in support of the Judiciary in Kenya
January 2018
CMJA former Executive Vice President, Sir Henry
Brooke passes away (see obituary in the
Times)
December 2017
Lady Brenda Hale, President of the UK Supreme
Court
becomes Patron of the CMJA
Endowment Trust
November 2017
Chief Magistrate Matankiso Nthunya represented
the CMJA at the East African Magistrates and Judges
Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda.
October 2017
Justice Charles Mkandawire represented the CMJA
at the UNODC's consultation on the Judicial
Global Integrity Network in Windhoek, Namibia, in
October 2017.
The CMJA Secretary General represented the CMJA
at the Commonwealth
Law Ministers Meeting in The Bahamas where she spoke
abou the activities of the CMJA since the last meeting
in Botswana. Click
here for the Outcome Statement.
The CMJA Secretary Genera, Dr Brewer, l paid a courtesy
visit the East African Court of Justice in Arusha and
met with the President of the Court, Hon. Justice Dr
Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, the Registrar of the Court, Mr
Yufnailis Okubo and the Deputy Registrar, Mrs Geraldine
Umugwaneza. The East African
Court of Justice is currently the only Institutional
Member of the CMJA and Dr Brewer expressed her gratitude
to the Court and individual judges at for their support
of the aims of the Association. She also learned more
about the workings fo the Court.
September 2017
The CMJA Conference on "Building an
Effective, Accountable and Inclusive Judiciary"
was held in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania from 24-28 September
2017 attracting 360 participants from 41 jurisdictions,
a record attendance for a regional conference of the
CMJA. We are deeply grateful to the Judiciaries of Tanzania
and Zanzibar, the Local Organising Committee and the
Judges and Maigstrates Association of Tanzania for all
their assistance in making this a memorable Conference
as well as the many sponsors that supported the Conference.
A full report will be available in due course
CLA, CLEA and CMJA issue a
Statement condemning the Threats against the Judiciary
of Kenya following the decision of the Supreme Court
on 1 September 2017 annulling the Presidential Elections.
August 2017
The former Director of Programmes, Hon. Keith Hollis
represented the CMJA the Preparatory Meeting on the
Global Judicial Integrity Network organised by UNODC
in Vienna, Austria. The UNODC is hoping to set up this
network of judges from around the globe to combat corruption.
They have also issued a survey which they hope will
assist them in finalising what the network and portal
will consist of. Further information is available from
the CMJA Secretary General on this issue.
July 2017
CLA, CLEA and CMJA issue a Statement in support of the
Judiciary
of Kenya.
June 2017
The CMJA joined a
Statement presented by the International Bar Association's
Human Rights Initiative during the Interactive Dialogue
with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of
Judges and Lawyers held in Geneva on 12 June 2017.
The Hon. Justice Kipling Douglas, Hon. Life President
of the CMJA and former President passed away on 18 June
2017. See Tribute
to the Life of Justice Douglas from the Cayman Islands
Chief Justice
May 2017
The CMJA was delighted to welcome the Judicial
Conference of Australia as a New Member Association
of the CMJA.
The CMJA and Commonwealth Secretariat ran a course on
on judicial independence, ethics, and the protection
of human rights in Dhaka, Bangladesh for 39 magistrates
at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The conference was
opened in the presence of Mr Justice Muhammad Imman
Ali of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of
Bangladesh. It included several notable speeches and
presenters, including Mr Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury,
High Court of Bangladesh, Judge Ray Rinaudo, Chief Magistrate
of Queensland in Australia, and District Judge Shamim
Qureshi, the CMJA Director of Programmes. The Chief
Justice of Bangladesh, Mr Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha
was the Keyniote Speaker at the Closing Ceremony. The
Course was organised and facilitated by Mr Mark Guthrie,
Legal Advisor to the Justice Section of the Commonwealth
Secretariat.
March 2017
The CMJA participated in the Commonwealth Law Conference
held in Melbourne, Australia. The CMJA President, Chief
Judge Dr John Lowndes chaired the session on Judicial
Indepedence. The CMJA Secretary General, Dr Karen Brewer
also participated in the Conference.
February 2017
CLA, CLEA, CMJA issued a Joint
Statement on the arrest of lawyers and Judges in
the Cameroon.
January 2017
The CMJA was delighted to receive a Gift of £2500
from the Patron's Fund which will be used to print
and widely distribute the "Guide for the Magistrate
in the Commonwealth: Fundamental Principles and Recommended
Practices". See Press
Release
Archived
News (2016-2015)
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