The present document of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is the final report of the trial of twenty-seven Turkish lawyers who were charged with “professional misconduct” for allegedly having disrupted the peace during court proceedings in December 2000. The ICJ finds that the trial was of a political nature and although some aspects of the right to a fair trial were respected, others such as the right to be tried by an independent tribunal, the right to equality of arms as well as the right to be informed of the charge were not respected. The ICJ reminds the Turkish Government of its international obligations to not identify lawyers with their clients’ causes and allow lawyers to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or prosecution, such as the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
The present document of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is the final report of the trial of twenty-seven Turkish lawyers who were charged with “professional misconduct” for allegedly having disrupted the peace during court proceedings in December 2000. The ICJ finds that the trial was of a political nature and although some aspects of the right to a fair trial were respected, others such as the right to be tried by an independent tribunal, the right to equality of arms as well as the right to be informed of the charge were not respected. The ICJ reminds the Turkish Government of its international obligations to not identify lawyers with their clients’ causes and allow lawyers to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or prosecution, such as the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
