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25th June 2018
Location

London

54 Doughty Street
London
WC1N 2LS
020 7404 1313

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has described the extension of ministerial control over the judiciary in Poland as “wrong and dangerous”.  The Irish High Court referred to these changes as having a chilling effect on judges in Poland and has proposed a reference to the CJEU on the ground that the common value of the rule of law has been breached.  Threats to judicial independence are not confined to Poland.  The risk of unfair trials where the judiciary is not truly independent has been identified in extradition requests from Russian, Ukraine, Turkey, Romania and Hungary – all members of the Council of Europe and signatories to the Convention.  The spotlight on Poland however provides a timely reminder of the importance of an effective judiciary to extradition relations and the justifies a closer examination of the limits of mutual trust.

Speakers:

Sir Konrad Schiemann was formerly one of 27 judges at the Court of Justice of the European Communities and will give his views on current challenges to judicial independence within the EU.

Members of Doughty Street Chambers Amelia Nice and Peter Caldwell will discuss how threats to judicial independence may be addressed in extradition proceedings by reference to Article 6 in the following aspects:

Separation of Powers
Judicial Appointment
Securing of tenure
Accountability and Discipline of judges
Political influence
Corruption

Discussion will be from 18:30 - 19:30. Guests are invited to join us for a drinks reception after the event.

If you are interested in attending please email events@doughtystreet.co.uk