In the present document the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) announces that it will send a leading African lawyer to observe the trial in Kenya against lawyer. Mr Nowrojee is charged with contempt of court for protesting court delays in the case of the widow of the slain Bishop Alexander Muge. ICJ Secretary-General Adama Dieng stated that the ICJ’s sole motive in sending an observer to this trial was to determine if the charges against Mr Nowrojee and the trial itself were in conformity with international standards regarding the independence of the legal profession. He cited, in particular, the “Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers” recently approved by the United Nations which guarantee lawyers’ immunity for actions properly taken in defence of their clients and which protect them from politically-motivated reprisals.