Centrum pro lidská práva a demokracii

Tip měsíce z Bulletinu

Evropská komise se rozhodla poslat Polsko před Soudní dvůr Evropské unie kvůli novele zákona o polském Nejvyšším soudu. Zákon podle Komise porušuje zásadu nezávislosti soudnictví. 

Nový polský zákon o Nejvyšším soudu z pera vládnoucí strany Právo a spravedlnost, který vstoupil v platnost v dubnu letošního roku, snižuje důchodový věk soudců ze 70 na 65 let. Více než třetina ze 72 soudců tak musí odejít do důchodu. Soudci, kterých se nařízení dotkne, sice mají možnost požádat prezidenta republiky o prodloužení funkčního období, pro rozhodnutí ale nejsou stanovena žádná kritéria a v případě odmítnutí není možný soudní přezkum. 

President Donald Trump invoked his national security power denying migrants asylum who enter the country illegally. Although Trump feels “we need people in our country but they have to come in legally,” the question must be asked how does this policy stand in regard to asylum law?

The point of the policy

Officials stated that the goal of the executive order was to bring asylum seekers into the country through legal measures at official border crossings and the policy more or less closes the door on asylum when migrants enter illegally. This is being done in an effort to secure national interest. One of the problems with this policy is the sheer number of border crossings, with many asylum seekers being informed at the crossings they must return another day to make their claim and sometimes requiring them to return to their home country in order to make their claim. This policy came to be in part due to the refugee caravan currently moving throughout Central America and Mexico towards the U.S. border, some of who have begun illegally crossing the border and subsequently been arrested.

When an international criminal tribunal in The Hague is mentioned, the majority of people think about the International Criminal Court. However, three other such courts are functioning in The Hague, one of them being the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. And as it applies national law, it is a very unique international tribunal. Why was it established? In what ways does it differ  from the other tribunals? The answers are brought by its President, Judge Ivana Hrdličková.

Madame President, as she is called at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, was a judge in the Czech Republic in both civil and criminal cases who, at the same time, focused her academic interests on Islamic law and human rights. She also served as an expert on the Council of Europe on money laundering and terrorist financing matters at the so-called Moneyval. She was appointed a judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2012 and became its President in 2015. In February 2018 she was re-elected for a third term of eighteen months.