Could we ever obtain more global justice?

Community Questions.

To Judge Is An Honor. To Judge Justly Is An Ideal

” My analysis of the judicial process comes from this, and little more: logic, and history, and custom, and utility, and accepted standards of right conduct, are the forces which singly or in combination shape the process of the law. Which of these forces dominate depends largely upon the comparative importance or value of the social interests that will be uniform and impartial…. Uniformity ceases to be good when it becomes uniformity of oppression “

           The Nature of the Judicial Process
                   Benjamin N. Cardozo 1921

Since 1959 the European Court of Human Rights has delivered 17000 judgements. Nearly half of those concerned five member states which are : Turkey ( 2994 ), Italy ( 2268 ), Russian Federation ( 1475 ), Poland ( 1042 ) and Rumania ( 1026 ). Nearly half of those judgements in which the Court found a violation included a violation of Article 6 which states that it is a violation of international law if a human rights case in the original country takes an inordinate amount of time. According to the rules of jurisdiction of the European Court of a human Rights ( ECHR ) admissibility to the ECHR is based on four factors: exhaustion of domestic remedies, six month deadline for applying to the court, complaints against a contracting state to the convention or applicant has suffered a significant disadvantage.

As of December 2013 there were almost one hundred thousand ( 100,000 ) pending applications to the ECHR. They were Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Serbia and various others. The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in 2014 found an additional violations in Libya, North Korea, Palestine, Iraq, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Greece, Australia, Cyprus and the United States. The Manual of Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Attorneys as well as the Facilitators Guide shows that there are laws, rules, statutes, treaties and procedures in place as well as the training methodologies to assist judges in each country to perform their duties effectively and justly.

Even though the judicial branch is supposed to be independent, various countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa are chosen by a head of state that is not just or has a unique mindset. According to the International Organization of Judicial Training as well as the European Judicial Training Network there are over one hundred judicial training academies globally. Curriculum in these academies include the following courses: jurisdiction, rule of law, evidence, administrative law, civil law, constitutional law, criminal law, family law, communication skills, computer skills, writing skills and ethics.

However, missing from these courses is human rights law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and similar legal documents do not have all countries as signators. There are only forty eight signatures. Some countries in the Middle East follow the Islamic philosophy of the Koran. Some Asian countries like North Korea totally disregard judicial training principles. The European Judicial Training Network recently created an exchange program for judges to learn best practice. In a recent issue of the Journal of the International Organization of Judicial Practice one article suggested a similar practice for exchanging judges from outside of the European arena. However, judges in the problem countries will be tough to bring on board. We need your input. Therefore, here are the questions that we are asking:

(1) Should we punish judges for not doing their job justly ? And if so, who should punish ?

(2) Should we bring the head of state of the country that is causing the problem to the International Criminal Court ?

(3) Should human rights law training be mandated in judicial training as well as the necessity to pass the course for graduation ?

(4) Should government officials including police forces be required to take human rights law ?

(5) What, in your opinion, should be done to eradicate all human rights violations globally?

Peter D. Rosenstein.

(He is a non-profit executive, journalist and Democratic and community activist. His background includes teaching; serving as Coordinator of Local Government for the City of New York; working in the Carter Administration; and Vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia)

“1– In the United States we have a quasi-independent judiciary. Under our constitution our Supreme Court- though appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate with a majority vote but there can be a filibuster to prevent that vote – but after it occurs this is a lifetime appointment. In this way they become Independent the third branch of our government- Legislative – Executives – Judiciary. That is the way it should be. They are often appointed and confirmed based on a bias they may have or the bias of the President and those who control the Senate. But we have seen they often do not make decisions as people expected them too once they are confirmed and know that position is a lifetime appointment.

Our judges below the Supreme Court are often different. The President does appoint federal judges but today our Senate can confirm them with only a majority vote without the right to filibuster which gives the Party in power in the Senate tremendous power.  I don’t believe that these judges should be punished for deciding cases in a way we don’t want them too.

But a Supreme Court Justice may be impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office if convicted in a Senate trial, but only for the same types of offenses that would trigger impeachment proceedings for any other government official under Articles I and II of the Constitution.

Article III, Section 1 states that judges of Article III courts shall hold their offices “during good behavior.” “The phrase “good behavior” has been interpreted by the courts to equate to the same level of seriousness ‘high crimes and misdemeanors” encompasses.

State judges are often appointed by a Governor and in some  states they are elected. That varies state by state. In most cases they aren’t lifetime appointments. They are and should be able to be removed for criminal behavior

2– I am not fully aware of how judges in countries where their leaders appoint them are removed so can’t really answer this question. If a judge is directed by a head of state to do something that is punishable under the guidelines of the  International Criminal Court then yes they should be brought to the courts.

3– I would think that his would be a good idea. But then training requirements of judges in each country differs and the issue would be who sets the curriculum for the course in each country? They would be trained in what their country sees as human rights which most of them already know. And many countries don’t have universal human rights under their laws.

4– I think that part of the requirement for police officials is that they learn the laws that they are hired to uphold. But then it isn’t the police who have the final decision but the courts so even if the police get it wrong it can be corrected if things work the way they are suppose too. Again Human Rights law whether we like it or not differs from country to country.

C. Bonjukian Patten.

(Financial Consultant owner of Bookkeeping/Office Management LLC working in the Greater NYC Area for clients in a cross section of industry)

If the world keeps having offspring there will be no more resources left for the people here already. If we force parents to pay for public schools for each child – they will stop having them. In turn we can extinguish others who are less useful – people in jail – by sending them into wars against our enemies – they will surely die. That or put these long term convicts on hard labor details – they will not last 1 month.”

“1- Judges are appointed, not self elected. Judges have to play at the best of their abilities under fair and balanced models that might be bigger than the system they represent. In a democracy this might work to their advantage, but there is no such thing as a universal human judge. The case of the Virginia four, would be appropriate to look at; a case where justice turns into clear injustice and it doesn’t start with the Judges but with the inspectors reviewing the case.

2– That is a subjective question. Depends who are we talking about and who is going to benefit. Heads of state represent an ideology, that ideology could derive from people’s demands, so in that case, its the nation to blame not the man in-charge. However, theocratic republics like Iran play a different model in world politics. A spiritual leader represents the nations spiritual, financial and diplomatic ventures. The danger with religious governments is that they represent a wider agenda, spreading to other international systems unaffected by politics always basing their present destiny on a book. Could we blame the religion or the belief system? (Islam is a case and point)

Russia and China are both (in my opinion) Autocracies despite what other experts claim. They take care of the military while the population lives under the illusion of wealth. When we look at their media propaganda, I think its clear that much of their population believes it. So okay, we blame it on Xi-Jiping and Vladimir Putin, but the truth is that the population needs to stand up and fight for freedom instead of waiting for international help.  To some extent they allow dictators to reign whether they approve it or not.

3– There is no such thing as universal human rights. Historically an ‘universal ideology’ of rights and wrongs has caused wars and chaos if anything!  And if it exist, it lives on the shadows of those who appoint laws and oppose other cultural rules to satisfy their own agenda.

4– Depends what country. Police officers are trained to follow the laws of the constitution, whether they apply or not that really depends on their own supervision. Some police officers have unbalanced freedoms that should be looked with greater supervision, but then again you would have to create another unit to supervise the officers to keep them in constant check. I believe that would be good.

5– You cannot eradicate human violation laws globally, that is literally impossible. As in question 3, you have to conclude that winners and losers systems is appointed by several different ideological systems. The world will never unite as one government because national interest will always betray international law if needed. Look at Scotland and Catalunya present referendum initiatives. Justice is on the eye of the beholder. Should a man cut a thieves arm for stealing, as opposed to lock him under felony charges? What is justice? — The eye of the beholder!

Frank Palatnick.

( He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for ” networking global education administrators in order to understand other countries, cultures and specifically students in order to create a pathway to a sustained peace.) 

“1–The judiciary are accountable to the public, and only the public. Therefore, if a judge fails to perform according to the rule of law as well as other standards I.e. Ethics, then the people shall be the ones to take action. In Arizona, United States, the judiciary, including the Supreme Court of the state, must be accountable to the people through/by an established commission called the ‘ Judicial Review Commission ‘. This commission, comprised of judges, attorneys and members of the public, evaluates judges on merit alone. The five basic pillars of standards that are used to assess their performance are: legal ability, integrity, communication skills, judicial temperament and administrative performance. Each year the commission publishes information that the public reviews which includes: published decisions, ratings from other judges and government officials, complaints against the judge, financial reporting and other pertinent data. The public is then required to vote for that judges continued employment or not.

2– In my opinion, the head of state of any country must be accountable for his/her actions by the people. If those actions violate the constitution or any other law, he/she must be brought to Justice. Not only through impeachment proceedings, but he/she must be brought in front of a neutral court I.e. The International Criminal Court. There should be no immunity or privileges.

3– Human Rights Law is, in my opinion, one of the most important issues/topics in the past millennia. That was documented by the issuance of the Code of Hammurabi. Human rights law will be more important in the future. The human condition in many countries across the globe demand we acknowledge and rigorously use whatever legal machinery to ensure that humankind can enjoy those rights to the fullest. Since the International Court of Justice as well as any other court in the world is entrusted with interpreting the law and punishing the violators of the laws, we must make sure that judges in these courts understand fully the ramifications of not having those rights as well as not enforcing those rights. We have seen in many cases around the world violations of immense proportions so as to render that country begging for assistance from any individual, organization or other government. Therefore, I feel that judicial training must include human rights law in their curriculum. They must also pass that course before graduation. I am aware that constitution law includes rights particular to that state/country’s constitution. However, some countries do not include rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which include specific human rights not mentioned in these countries. The course must include, therefore, the use of the ‘ Manual of Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Attorneys as well as the facilitation guide.

4– Should government officials, including the police force, be required to take human rights law ?All government officials, including the police force, the military ( not just the Uniform Code of Military Justice ) and all department heads should take, and be accountable to, human rights law.

5– In order to eradicate all human rights violations globally, we need to educate society, by any means available, no matter what geopolitical environment they’re in. For the oppressed nations/states extreme measures must be taken to get that knowledge to the common person/individual. We must, if necessary, create an ‘ Arab Spring ‘ environment in those oppressed areas I.e. North Korea. Human rights must be given to all individuals in order for society as a whole to flourish. We have seen to many cases where the common individual has been murdered, mutilated, humiliated and other extreme practices that prevent or cease the enjoyment of the use of basic individual minds. That must stop.”