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Justice (organisation)

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JUSTICE
Founded1957 (1957)
TypeCharitable organisation
Registration no.England and Wales: 1058580
Legal statusRegistered charity
Focuslaw reform, human rights
HeadquartersLondon
Area served
England and Wales
Chief Executive
Fiona Rutherford
Websitehttps://www.justice.org.uk
For other uses, see Justice (disambiguation).

JUSTICE is a human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the British section of the International Commission of Jurists, the international human rights organisation of lawyers devoted to the legal protection of human rights worldwide.[1] Consequently, members of JUSTICE are predominantly barristers and solicitors, judges, legal academics, and law students.

JUSTICE is independent and all-party, having representatives of the three major political parties on its ruling Council. It is a registered charity under English law.[2]

JUSTICE's Chief Executive is Fiona Rutherford,[3] and the chair of the JUSTICE Council is Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws QC.[4]

Discover more about Justice (organisation) related topics

Human rights

Human rights

Human rights are moral principles or norms for certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable, fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being" and which are "inherent in all human beings", regardless of their age, ethnic origin, location, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as requiring empathy and the rule of law and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others, and it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances.

International Commission of Jurists

International Commission of Jurists

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists—including senior judges, attorneys and academics—who work to develop national and international human rights standards through the law. Commissioners are known for their experience, knowledge and fundamental commitment to human rights. The composition of the Commission aims to reflect the geographical diversity of the world and its many legal systems.

Judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling in the case based on their interpretation of the law and their own personal judgment. A judge is expected to conduct the trial impartially and, typically, in an open court.

Charitable organization

Charitable organization

A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.

History

1957–2000

JUSTICE was founded in 1957, following the visit of a group of British lawyers to observe the treason trials of members of the African National Congress (ANC) in apartheid South Africa and the show-trials in communist Hungary. Its first chairman was Hartley Shawcross, the chief British prosecutor at Nuremberg.[5] Other founding members included Sir John Galway Foster QC,[6] and Peter Benenson who later established Amnesty International.[7] Indeed, when AI first started in 1961, it shared its offices with JUSTICE.

In 1958, it became the British section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). The original terms of JUSTICE's constitution committed it "to uphold and strengthen the principles of the Rule of Law in the territories for which the British Parliament is directly or ultimately responsible: in particular, to assist in the administration of justice and in the preservation of the fundamental liberties of the individual". Indeed, JUSTICE itself gave rise to a number of subordinate branches in what were then still British colonies and dependent territories. As each of these countries moved towards independence in the 1960s, the branches reconstituted themselves as national sections of the ICJ. This, in turn, shifted the emphasis of JUSTICE's own work towards the UK itself.

Thus, although founded with an international orientation, JUSTICE quickly established a specific focus on the rule of law and protection of fundamental rights in the UK. Through the work of its first secretary, Tom Sargant OBE, JUSTICE rapidly developed expertise in cases involving miscarriages of justice, and secured the release of many prisoners who had been wrongly imprisoned. Sargant was instrumental in the establishment of the BBC series Rough Justice, which led to the release from prison of eighteen victims of miscarriages of justice.

At the same time JUSTICE developed as a policy organisation, producing reports that helped establish the UK's ombudsman system, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, the Data Protection Act 1998, and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Similarly, many of the measures contained in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 were previously put forward by JUSTICE. Through the 1990s it established and developed programmes on human rights legislation, criminal justice, asylum and immigration, discrimination and privacy. It campaigned for the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law by way of the Human Rights Act 1998.

2000 – present

In October 2009, it became the first NGO to intervene in a case before the UK Supreme Court in the case of HM Treasury v Ahmed.[8]

Following JUSTICE's intervention in Cadder v HM Advocate,[9] JUSTICE Scotland was launched in July 2012.[10][11] The first JUSTICE Scotland working party report, looking at legal assistance in police stations, was published in July 2018.[12]

Following the suspension of all new trials due to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, JUSTICE led a series of mock virtual trials to examine viability and safety.[13]

Leadership

Previous Directors of JUSTICE include Dame Anne Owers CBE, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, Leah Levin OBE, a founder and trustee of REDRESS,[14] and Andrea Coomber QC (Hon), Chief Executive of the Howard League of Penal Reform.[15] Previous chairs of JUSTICE include Lord Alexander of Weedon QC, Lord Goodhart QC, Paul Seighart,[16] and the former Law Lord, Lord Steyn.

Discover more about History related topics

African National Congress

African National Congress

The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installed Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent national President, has served as President of the ANC since 18 December 2017.

Apartheid

Apartheid

Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically through minoritarianism by the nation's dominant minority white population. According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest status, followed by Indians and Coloureds, then black Africans. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.

Hartley Shawcross

Hartley Shawcross

Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross,, known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal. He also served as Britain's principal delegate to the United Nations immediately after the Second World War and as Attorney General for England and Wales.

Nuremberg trials

Nuremberg trials

The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.

John Foster (MP for Northwich)

John Foster (MP for Northwich)

Brigadier Sir John Galway Foster was a British Conservative Party politician, British Army officer and legal scholar. He served as Member of Parliament for the Northwich constituency in Cheshire from 1945 to February 1974, and was Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations from 1951 to 1954.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and supporters around the world. The stated mission of the organization is to campaign for "a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments." The organization has played a notable role on human rights issues due to its frequent citation in media and by world leaders.

International Commission of Jurists

International Commission of Jurists

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists—including senior judges, attorneys and academics—who work to develop national and international human rights standards through the law. Commissioners are known for their experience, knowledge and fundamental commitment to human rights. The composition of the Commission aims to reflect the geographical diversity of the world and its many legal systems.

BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, based at Broadcasting House in London, England. It is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, employing over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,900 are in public-sector broadcasting.

Data Protection Act 1998

Data Protection Act 1998

The Data Protection Act 1998 was a Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system. It enacted provisions from the European Union (EU) Data Protection Directive 1995 on the protection, processing, and movement of data.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Criminal Cases Review Commission

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and began work on 31 March 1997. The commission is the only body in its area of jurisdiction with the power to send a case back to an appeals court if it concludes that there is a real possibility that the court will overturn a conviction or reduce a sentence. Since starting work in 1997, it has on average referred 33 cases a year for appeal.

Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Constitutional Reform Act 2005

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of the House of Lords and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales from the office of Lord Chancellor.

European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

The European Convention on Human Rights is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the Convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.

Current work

The main areas of JUSTICE's work are:

  • Human rights
  • Criminal justice
  • EU law
  • The rule of law

JUSTICE's focus is on UK law but its work involves highlighting the importance of international human rights law as well as bringing to bear the insights of comparative analysis of other jurisdictions. European law plays an increasingly large role in this work. It works primarily by briefing parliamentarians and policy-makers on the human rights implications of legislation. As a policy organisation it is less involved in overt campaigning and individual casework and more on providing independent, expert legal analysis on matters of fundamental rights. It also works at the European and international levels, lobbying the European Union institutions, the Council of Europe and the various United Nations treaty bodies.

Each of JUSTICE's areas of work in turn covers a broad range of issues, including asylum and immigration, counter-terrorism, equality and discrimination, privacy, EU Freedom Justice and Security issues, legal aid and access to justice, as well as constitutional issues tied to the role of the judiciary and parliamentary scrutiny of legislation.

JUSTICE also has a long history of intervening in cases of public importance involving the protection of fundamental rights. To this end, it has intervened before in cases before the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords, the Privy Council, the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Court of Justice.

Discover more about Current work related topics

European Union

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi) and an estimated total population of nearly 447 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a population of approximately 675 million; it operates with an annual budget of approximately 500 million euros.

House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.

European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights, also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights enumerated in the convention or its optional protocols to which a member state is a party. The European Convention on Human Rights is also referred to by the initials "ECHR". The court is based in Strasbourg, France.

European Court of Justice

European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice (ECJ), formally just the Court of Justice,, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting EU law and ensuring its uniform application across all EU member states under Article 263 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Source: "Justice (organisation)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, November 30th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_(organisation).

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Further Reading

Robin Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon

High Court of Justiciary

International Commission of Jurists

Edinburgh Law School

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

Nick Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers

Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir

Constitution of the United Kingdom

R v Horncastle

Rabinder Singh (judge)

Mónica Feria Tinta

Sara Hossain

Begum v Home Secretary
See also
References
  1. ^ "Sections and Affiliates". International Commission of Jurists. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  2. ^ "Justice (organisation), registered charity no. 1058580". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  3. ^ Fouzder2021-11-23T11:08:00+00:00, Monidipa. "Senior MoJ official to lead influential legal thinktank". Law Gazette. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  4. ^ "Helena Kennedy QC - About Helena". www.helenakennedy.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  5. ^ "Lord Shawcross". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  6. ^ "Sir John Galway Foster QC :: The Rothschild Foster Human Rights Trust". rothschildfostertrust.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  7. ^ "Peter Benenson". www.benensonsociety.org. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  8. ^ Court, The Supreme. "Her Majesty's Treasury (Respondents) v Mohammed Jabar Ahmed and others (FC) (Appellants) - The Supreme Court". www.supremecourt.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  9. ^ Court, The Supreme. "Cadder (Appellant) v Her Majesty's Advocate (Respondent) (Scotland) - The Supreme Court". www.supremecourt.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  10. ^ JUSTICE Annual Report 2012 (PDF). 2012. p. 18.
  11. ^ "OSCR | Charity Details". www.oscr.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  12. ^ "Report finds 70 per cent of suspects waive right to legal advice during police detention". Scottish Legal News. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  13. ^ "Coronavirus: Jury trials face 'biggest change since WW2'". BBC News. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  14. ^ "History of REDRESS". Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  15. ^ "The Howard League | Andrea Coomber appointed Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform". The Howard League. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  16. ^ "Obituaries" (PDF). AJR Information. Vol. XLIV, no. 2. February 1989. p. 15.
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