Independent courts, judges who will withstand political pressure and rule against the will of the government if the law demands it. It’s called the rule of law, and as long as you have it, you rarely notice it. If you don’t have it, you’ll know what you miss – but then it’s too late. We need to talk about the rule of law because in a growing number of EU member states, the rule of law is already severely damaged - and we will all feel the consequences. We need to talk about the rule of law as Europeans, among Europeans. This is what we, Verfassungsblog and Deutscher Anwaltsverein, want to do with this podcast. Twelve weeks, twelve episodes: Every week we invite a number of high-profile political and legal actors and experts to discuss the most urgent aspects of this topic. If you want to be part of this debate, please feel warmly encouraged, do send us your question, use the hashtag #lawrules or send us a speech memo on our Instagram account (@verfassungsblog).
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Independent courts, judges who will withstand political pressure and rule against the will of the government if the law demands it. It’s called the rule of law, and as long as you have it, you rarely notice it. If you don’t have it, you’ll know what you miss – but then it’s too late. We need to talk about the rule of law because in a growing number of EU member states, the rule of law is already severely damaged - and we will all feel the consequences. We need to talk about the rule of law as Europeans, among Europeans. This is what we, Verfassungsblog and Deutscher Anwaltsverein, want to do with this podcast. Twelve weeks, twelve episodes: Every week we invite a number of high-profile political and legal actors and experts to discuss the most urgent aspects of this topic. If you want to be part of this debate, please feel warmly encouraged, do send us your question, use the hashtag #lawrules or send us a speech memo on our Instagram account (@verfassungsblog).
#DefendingTheDefenders – Episode 7: UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite
We need to talk about the Rule of Law
24 minutes 59 seconds
2 years ago
#DefendingTheDefenders – Episode 7: UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite
On the 24th of January, the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, we conclude our podcast with a conversation with Margaret Satterthwaite. She is a professor of Clinical Law at New York University and was appointed as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in October 2022.
In this season, we have been looking at the challenges and dangers lawyers and human rights defenders face in their work in many different countries. We have been talking about Poland, Belarus, Turkey, Afghanistan, Colombia and the European Union. From harassments over identifications of lawyers with their clients to media pressure, SLAPP suits, imprisonments and violent attacks, we have talked about a range of threats lawyers face particularly in countries where the rule of law is fragile or where there is democratic backsliding, but not only there.
In this conversation, Margaret Sattertwhaite offers a global perspective on the topic of our podcast, the defence of the defenders. We talk about global trends in challenges to the independence of lawyers, and we talk about structural problems that need to be addressed to defend the defenders around the globe.
Margaret's statement on the situation in Afghanistan can be found here: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/ijudiciary/statements/2023-01-17/202301-stm-sr-ijl-sr-afghanistan-day-endangered-lawyer.pdf
We need to talk about the Rule of Law
Independent courts, judges who will withstand political pressure and rule against the will of the government if the law demands it. It’s called the rule of law, and as long as you have it, you rarely notice it. If you don’t have it, you’ll know what you miss – but then it’s too late. We need to talk about the rule of law because in a growing number of EU member states, the rule of law is already severely damaged - and we will all feel the consequences. We need to talk about the rule of law as Europeans, among Europeans. This is what we, Verfassungsblog and Deutscher Anwaltsverein, want to do with this podcast. Twelve weeks, twelve episodes: Every week we invite a number of high-profile political and legal actors and experts to discuss the most urgent aspects of this topic. If you want to be part of this debate, please feel warmly encouraged, do send us your question, use the hashtag #lawrules or send us a speech memo on our Instagram account (@verfassungsblog).
