"Grayling Must Go: Legal Aid Must Stay"

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Thousands of lawyers struck on Friday against the government's devastating cuts to the justice system.

Demonstrations took place in cities across the country against the government's plans to slash funding for criminal cases, reduce the number of people eligible for legal aid, and prevent oversight of government action by restricting judicial review.

Haldane members took a prominent role in organising the demonstrations and strikes.

The Haldane Society is now calling for a protracted campaign of strike days involving the withdrawal of our services from the criminal justice system until the government abandons their plans.

Lecture 12 March: Omar Khard and the Betrayal of International Law

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Wednesday 12 March 2014, 6.30pm

Omar Khadr and the Betrayal of International Law

At Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A

Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, 27, was 15 years old when he was captured by the US military in Afghanistan in 2002. He was taken to Bagram, where he was tortured, and then on to Guantánamo Bay, where he is the only person since WWII to be convicted as an adult of war crimes committed as a minor under a secret plea bargain. He returned to Canada in September 2012 where he remains in prison, and until recently at a maximum-security facility. His lawyers have recently launched an appeal against his US conviction and the Canadian government for breaches of his constitutional rights.

Dennis Edney QC, Khadr’s Scottish-Canadian lawyer, will talk through the legal issues surrounding Omar Khadr’s unique case and the gross abuses of his human rights and international law by both the US and Canadian governments.

The event will be chaired by Professor Bill Bowring, President of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH); International Secretary, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers. Jointly organised by CAMPACC, the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers and the London Guantánamo Campaign.

The event is free and all welcome! For information contact: secretary@haldane.org

Invitation to Cuban Five meeting on 26 February

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This is an open invitation to attend a joint Haldane Society/Cuba Solidarity Campaign meeting regarding the (Miami) Cuban 5, on 26 February 2014 at 6.30pm at Garden Court Chambers 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ. 

The meeting will focus on the cases of five Cuban nationals arrested in Miami in 1998 while attempting to stop terrorist attacks against the Cuban people.  The Five anti-terrorists were illegally held in solidarity confinement for 17 months, convicted following an unfair trial and sentenced to terms of between 15 years to double life. The campaign for justice for the Five is gaining international prominence and raises important issues relating to the rights of the Miami (or Cuban) 5 as well as the rights of Cuba to national self defence,

Ways of Showing Support

The campaign has launched a new website which provides supporters with different ways to help the Five: www.voicesforthefive.com/
  • Send a message of support to the Five alongside over 3500 other 'voices for the 5' and encourage others to do so by clicking here 
  • Make a donation by clicking here.  All proceeds will be used to help finance the Commission of Inquiry and the campaign to Free the Five.

International Commission of Inquiry 

The evening at Garden Court Chambers on 26 February 2014 is a precursor to a two day International Commission of Inquiry into the Case of the Cuban Five, which will take place on 7th and 8th March 2014, at the Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL.

The Commission will hear testimony from around 20 key witnesses including US defence attorney Martin Garbus,' the world's finest trial lawyer',  former US attorney general Ramsey Clark,  representatives from international human rights organisation Amnesty International, and from Miami Five family members including wives of the Five, Olga Salanueva and Elizabeth Palmeiro.

International Legal Community 

The Commission will be presided over by distinguished international jurors including the former Chief Justice of India Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal,  Zakeria  Mohammed Yacoob former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Philippe Texier, former Chair of the Supreme Court of France.

There will be testimony from specialists on the range of measures taken to defend Cuba against the threat of terrorist attacks, as well as testimony from Cuban and international victims of US based terrorism.

Rene Gonzalez 

René González, the first and only member of the Miami Five to have been released after completing his 15 year sentence in the United States, has announced that he will also come to London to give evidence to the International Commission of Inquiry on 7th and 8th March 2014.

He will be joined by family members, victims of terrorism against Cuba, lawyers, politicians and campaigners from Cuba and across the world including Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize winning author of the Color Purple. Ricardo Alarcon, the former President of the Cuban parliament and representative to the UN for many years is another special guest.

International Solidarity 

The International Commission is the major event of the campaigning organisation Voices for the Five which has brought together hundreds of international celebrities including John Le Carré, Emma Thompson, Danny Glover, Lord Rowan Williams, Martin Sheen, Noam Chomsky, Günter Grass, Peter Capaldi and Dame Vivienne Westwood. They have been joined by thousands who have posted messages of support to the web based campaigning site.

For a full list of international endorsers, please see http://www.voicesforthefive.com/endorsers/

Cultural Events 

A number of associated events will take place including a major international concert at the Barbican Hall in London featuring acclaimed musicians and stars of the Buena Vista Social Club - Eliades Ochoa and Omara Portuondo -   alongside other international performers and guests, as well as associated screenings and exhibitions.

Tickets 

Public tickets are available for each day (£10 per day) of the Commission and demand is expected to be high so please book as soon as possible.
  • To buy tickets click here
  • For further details about the Commission proceedings click here
  • For details about Accommodation and Transport options in London click here
  • For further details click here to contact Voices for the Five 

Launch of Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance: 27 February 2014

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*Meeting Now Fully Subscribed*

Entry can only be guaranteed to those who have pre-booked.

We invite you to the launch meeting of the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS).

Thursday 27 February 2014, 6.30pm

Speakers:

  • Imran Khan, solicitor to Doreen Lawrence
  • Lois Austin, Youth Against Racism in Europe and Socialist Party
  • Harriet Wistrich, solicitor to eight women bringing legal action against the Metropolitan Police Service
  • Dave Smith, Blacklist Support Group
  • Robbie Gillett, Drax protester
  • Helen Steel, one of the women who is suing police over undercover relationships

Unfortunately, Baroness Lawrence is now unable to attend.

Diskus Conference Centre, Unite House, 128 Theobald's Road,  Holborn, London, WC1X 8TN

Free admission. Places are limited, so please book by email to cops@haldane.org

Download the leaflet.

Further information: http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.wordpress.com/

[The image in this article is the logo of the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance.  It is the word "COPS" in capital letters, with a palm print in the centre of the "O".]

Legal Aid: Why We are Fighting

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We hope the following provide some assistance in explaining the effects of the cuts, and why we are fighting them:

  1. Funding cuts to criminal legal aid will put many firms out of business, particularly community-based BME firms.
  2. Contracts for police station and court duty work represent price competitive tendering (PCT) by the back door.
  3. The £37,500 disposable income threshold for legal aid in the Crown Court will lead to many defendants being unrepresented.
  4. The one year residence test will mean that those who suffer injustice at the hands of the state will be unable to seek redress.
  5. The civil merits test means legal aid is no longer available for borderline cases.  These often include points of the greatest public interest.
  6. The judicial review proposals seek to insulate government from being held to account.  Lawyers will not be paid for the initial work done on JRs unless a judge gives permission for the case to continue.  Good cases will not be taken on if lawyers cannot afford the risk of later not being paid for the work undertaken.
  7. There is a real risk that civil legal aid cuts, including the 10% cut in rates in 2011 and recent cuts to barristers’ fees, mean that in the future there will be barely any civil legal aid providers and none who have specialist expertise.
  8. Without legal aid, many people will be dissuaded from pursuing good cases in court.
  9. There will be no equality of arms in court for people deprived of legal aid who bring cases against the government or public authorities.  The government has an open chequebook when it needs a lawyer.
  10. The government’s campaign is based on misrepresentation: of the UK’s spending on justice, on lawyers' levels of pay, and on the public’s views.

Download a printable version to distribute (pdf).
Download a printable version to distribute (docx).

Human Rights Lectures 2013-14

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Thursday 13 February 2014:

UK human rights violation in Afghanistan and Iraq - the present picture.

Speaker: Phil Shiner, Public Interest Lawyers.

Thursday 13 March 2014:

Reflections on the Mark Duggan inquest.

Speakers: to be confirmed.

All lectures at 6.30pm at the University of Law, 14 Store Street, London WC1A 7DE.

Admission free. We regret that CPD points are not available.

Download the poster (pdf).

NEW Petition to Save Legal Aid

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The Justice Alliance has launched a new petition calling on David Cameron to halt the Transforming Legal Aid proposals accompanied by the following message:

As opposition to the legal aid cuts grows from diverse sections of society, now is the time to put down a marker. We need to send a strong and swift message to the Government, we need to show the widespread support for legal aid and we need to defend access to justice.

Please sign this petition http://chn.ge/1dWvURV and join with Joanna Lumley, the first signatory, who campaigned to secure rights for the Gurkhas, themselves reliant on legal aid. If Grayling has his way innocent people will be wrongly jailed, the state will enjoy immunity for unlawful acts, victims of trafficking and domestic violence will be left without support. Don't let that happen. Join the fight for legal aid.

Please share this petition widely and encourage others to sign it. It has reached nearly 5,000 signatories since it opened on Friday morning.