Day of the Endangered Lawyer 2016: Honduras

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22 January 2016 is the international Day of the Endangered Lawyer. This year focuses on the plight of lawyers in Honduras.

Since the 2009 coup d’etat there has been an increase in violent attacks and human rights violations that have gravely affected the Honduran population. As Amnesty International report in their 2014/15 ‘State of the World’s Human Rights’:

“Scores of human rights defenders, including Indigenous and campesino leaders, LGBTI activists, justice officials and journalists were victims of human rights violations. They suffered killings, physical violence, kidnapping, threats, harassment and verbal attacks.”

Human Rights Watch in their annual report commented that:

“Honduras suffers from rampant crime and impunity for human rights abuses…Judges face acts of intimidation and political interference”

The situation facing lawyers in Honduras is dire. The statistics are alarming. In 2013 there were 29 violent acts against lawyers of which 9 were injured and 24 died. In 2014 the national commissioner for human rights recorded the death of 11 lawyers. From between 2010 and March 2015 the Commissioner has recorded 89 deaths of lawyers as a result of targeted killings.

On Friday, 22nd January 2016 protests will take place outside Honduran Embassies and Consulates all over Europe. In London, lawyers, paralegals and campaigners, with the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, the UK member association of ELDH, will be protesting outside the Honduran Embassy. A petition on behalf of the Honduran lawyers and other law professionals will be handed over to the Ambassador.

There is a Facebook event available at https://www.facebook.com/events/1241952505820312/

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Solidarity with Plane Stupid Activists

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The Haldane Society recognises that ecological destruction is driven by capitalist, colonial, and patriarchal domination. Climate change is an urgent issue and we have little hope that the December 2015 UN climate talks - officially sponsored by multinational companies vested in fossil fuels such as EDF and Air France - will yield a globally binding agreement to dramatically reduce emissions that we need.

Our solidarity is with grassroots activists fighting for a decent future for all species. We also recognise the need for and support non violent direct action on climate change, such as the recent actions by Plane Stupid in July and in November 2015 focused on Heathrow (this included a protest on the runway at Heathrow in July and blockading tunnel at Heathrow in November).  We support the Plane Stupid defendants who have their trial scheduled for 18 - 29 January 2016 at Willesden Magistrates' Court.

Click here to find out about court solidarity dates.

Women Fighting Back: International and Legal Perspectives - CPD Available

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Barristers can now obtain BSB approved CPD hours for the conference.  You will need to have already bought your ticket to the conference at the relevant price for your income. 

Our socialist and feminist commitment to supporting low-income members of the legal profession means that if you are on a low income and are unable to afford the full cost of CPD hours then we will be happy to agree a lower rate.  Please contact secretary@haldane.org to discuss this.

UPDATE: Ticket purchases have now closed.

Women Fighting Back: International and Legal Perspectives - Workshop Signup

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Select Your Workshop Session

Attendees of the International Women's Conference 28-29 November 2015 will need to select their choices for the workshop sessions.  Nine or 10 workshops will run in each of the three sessions.  Attendees must make their selections on the form below by Friday 27 November 2015 at 17:00.  Please also provide us with any languages required for interpretation, and any other information we will need to be aware of on the day.

UPDATE: Registration has now closed and anyone not having signed up will need to sign up on Saturday or Sunday morning.

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Women Fighting Back: International and Legal Perspectives

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International Conference in London 28-29 November 2015

Download the poster.

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights will be hosting the "Women Fighting Back: International and Legal Perspectives" conference at London South Bank University (100-116 London Road, London, SE1 6LN) on 28-29 November 2015.

The aim of the conference is to bring a critical, left wing and intersectional perspective to the women's movement and to provide a forum for exchanging ideas and practical skills between lawyers, academics and activists to advance women’s campaigns and struggles.

The main themes of the conference will be:

  • Violence against women
  • The role of women in peace processes
  • Austerity
  • Women in work
  • Migrant women
  • Climate change

We are delighted to announce the participation of:

  • Angela Davis (USA) - Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies Departments at the University of California. Founding member of Critical Resistance.
  • Rashida Manjoo (South Africa) - the immediate former (2009-2014) UN Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Professor in the Department of Public Law, Cape Town
  • Wafa Kafarna (Palestine) - Norwegian Refugee Council and Palestinian activist
  • Liz Davies (UK) - Housing Rights Lawyer, honorary Vice President of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers and co-author of "Enforcing Housing Rights: the case of Sheikh Jarrah: Report on the fact-finding mission to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories" for Avocats Sans FrontieÌres
  • Jeanne Mirer (USA), President of IADL, founding board member of the International Commission for Labour Rights
  • Frances Webber (UK) - vice-chair of the Institute of Race Relations' council of management and a former barrister who specialised in immigration, refugee and human rights law.

Programme[1]

Saturday 28 November 2015

09:00-10:00 Registration/Coffee

10:00-10:15 Welcome Note:

  • Liz Davies (UK)
    Vice President of the Haldane Society and Housing Rights Lawyer.

10:15-11:45 Panel Discussion: Migrant and Refugee Women

  • Louise Christian (Chair)
  • Dr Dorys Quintana Cruz (Cuba)
    Professor of International Law, University of Havana

11:45-12:00 Break

12:00-13:00 Workshop

13:00-13:45 Lunch

13:45-14:15 Keynote Session

  • Prof. Rashida Manjoo (South Africa)
    Former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (2009-2015)

14:15-15:45 Panel Discussion: Violence against Women

  • Elizabeth Gordon (UK)

15:45-16:00 Campaign for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention Action on violence against women and domestic violence (ELDH)

16:00-16:15 Break

16:15-16:30 Open Floor

16:30-18:00 Panel Discussion: Women in conflict and peace

  • Barbara Spinelli (Italy)
    Member of the Italian Association of Democratic Lawyers and Expert on Femicide/ Feminicide.

Evening: Cabaret at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, 145 Fleet Street with Scary Little Girls 

Sunday 29 November 2015

09:00-10:00 Registration/Coffee

10:00-11:30 Panel Discussion: The State and Women's Bodies

  • Gareth Peirce (Chair) 

11:30-11:45 Break

11:45-12:45 Workshop

12:45-13:30 Lunch

13:30-14:00 Angela Davis (USA)
Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies Departments at the University of California. Founding member of critical resistance.

14:00-15:00 Workshop

15:00-15:15 Break

15:55-16:45 Panel Discussion: Women in work

  • Yasmine Bennamanii and Zouzou Hadjer Zahida (Algeria)
    Lawyers

16:45-17:10 Open Floor

17:10-17:30 Closing Note Jeanne Mirer (USA)
President of IADL, founding board member of the International Commission for Labour Rights.

[1] N.B. This is a draft programme and may be changed.

Participate

There are different pricing levels for students, those on a low income, and those on high incomes.  Requests for complete exemption from paying for those on benefits can be made to feminism@haldane.org.

Early bird tickets have all been sold, and tickets are now being sold at their full price.  Ticket sales will cease at 17:00 on 27 November 2015.  After this time if you want to try to reserve a ticket then please contact membership@haldane.org.

When you purchase your ticket you will not receive a paper or electronic ticket: if you have received an acknowledgment email from PayPal then your name is on the guestlist which will be on the door.

Top-up tickets with CPD accreditation for barristers are available here.

The deadline for booking childcare has passed.  However, if this will cause you a problem then please let secretary@haldane.org know.

Please let secretary@haldane.org know if you do not speak English, French or Spanish.

Download the travel advice in English or in French (Spanish available shortly).

Donate

If you would like to contribute financially to the conference you can donate online through PayPal (see below).  There is a small commission taken by PayPal.  If you would like to donate without any commission being taken then please contact feminism@haldane.org for details of how to make a bank transfer.

UPDATE: Ticket purchases have now closed.

Social Media

Follow us on Twitter @Haldane_IWC

Follow us on Facebook.

Industrial Action: Monitoring the Effects

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The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers has campaigned for years for direct action by the profession to defend access to justice.  Direct action is currently ongoing amongst criminal law solicitors and barristers. 

It is essential that we learn the impact of the action.  Alongside grassroots campaigns and other professional bodies, the Criminal Bar Association is playing a role in organising the action.  They have set up a monitoring system to establish the impact that action is having so far.  This is set out below.

No Returns

If you returned a case due to a diary clash, we would invite you to try and follow it up, where possible, to see what became of it. Please send the information using the following form:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CBANORETURNS2015

If you have accepted a return on the 27th July or beyond, equally we would invite you to fill out the form so the action can be monitored properly . The information collected will be used simply to monitor the action and not to single people out who have chosen not to participate by accepting returns.

No legal aid order

If you are in the Crown Court and witness a defendant appearing who is not in receipt of legal aid, through the solicitors action, we would invite you to fill out the following form:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MonitoringOrders

Equally, if you are instructed in a post 1 July matter which does have a legal aid order in place, please use the same form. Again, this information is not being collected to stigmatise those who are accepting new work, but rathe to monitor just how many representation orders are being applied for.