NAIROBI/GHENT/STRASBOURG – Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has joined with Ghent University’s Human Rights Centre to file a third party intervention in four cases before the European Court of Human Rights. The cases, Mahammad Majidli v. Azerbaijan (no. 3) and three other applications, concern the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Azerbaijan. At issue is the Court’s interpretation of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The submission from the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, and the Human Rights Centre, calls upon the Court to clarify its jurisprudence on the right to freedom of assembly and to establish “clear and strong protective standards.” “States are increasingly limiting the right to freedom of assembly using justifications such as ‘unauthorized assemblies’ or ‘unlawful assemblies’ with consequent measures such as administrative and criminal sanctions,” the authors write. “The cases before the Court provide an excellent opportunity for the Court to clarify the use of these notions and measures in light of the legal protection guaranteed by Article 11 of the Convention.” The brief focuses on the need to... Continue reading →
(Inglés) NAIROBI/MEXICO CITY - El Relator Especial Maina Kiai presentó un amicus curiae ante la Suprema Corte de la Nación mexicana argumentando que tres de las normas contenidas en la Ley de Movilidad del Distrito Federal imponen restricciones ilegítimas al derecho a la libertad de reunión pacífica. El documento, que fue entregado el 21 de agosto de 2015, es el segundo que se presenta en el marco del proyecto de expertos de Naciones Unidas para la promoción del derecho de libertad de reunión pacífica y asociación a través del uso del litigio a nivel nacional y regional. El primer documento de este tipo se presentó ante la Corte Constitucional de Bolivia en mayo, del cual se espera una resolución pronto. El documento entregado por el Relator Especial en México fue sometido en el contexto de un caso en el que se discutirá la constitucionalidad de los artículos 212, 213 y 214 de la Ley de Movilidad del Distrito Federal. Kiai concluye que las tres normas no cumplen con “las obligaciones del Estado y las condiciones para las restricciones legítimas del derecho a la reunión pacífica de acuerdo con los estándares y principios de derecho internacional.” El artículo 212, por ejemplo, requiere que los organizadores de una manifestación notifiquen 48 horas antes de que se lleve a... Continue reading →
(Español) NAIROBI/MEXICO CITY - Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has filed an amicus curiae brief before the Supreme Court of Mexico, arguing that three provisions of Mexico City’s Mobility Law impose impermissible restrictions on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The brief, which was submitted on August 21, 2015, is the second official court filing in the UN expert’s project to advance the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association through the use of litigation in national and regional courts. The first brief was filed in the Constitutional Court in Bolivia in May; a decision in that case is expected soon. The Special Rapporteur’s Mexico brief was filed in a case challenging the constitutionality of Articles 212, 213 and 214 of the Mexico City Mobility law. Kiai concludes all three provisions fail to comply with “the obligations of the State and the conditions for legitimate restrictions to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly under international law, standards and principles.” Article 212, for example, requires that the organizers notify authorities 48 hours in advance of a planned public assembly and indicate the “perfectly legitimate objective” of the event. Although the 48-hour notification rule is acceptable under international law, requiring... Continue reading →
NAIROBI/SUCRE, Bolivia - Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Constitutional Court of Bolivia, arguing that a national law and an executive decree regulating the operations of non-governmental organizations breach the international right to freedom of association. The brief, which was submitted on May 13, 2015, was the first official court filing in the UN expert’s project to advance the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association through the use of litigation in national and regional courts. The project began in Oct. 2014 and aims to encourage the application of international law norms at the domestic level. In March 2013, Bolivia adopted the controversial law on legal personality, despite many analyses indicating that it contravened international law. In June 2013, the equally contentious implementing Supreme Decree followed. Late last year, the “Defensor del Pueblo” filed a petition with the Constitutional Court of Bolivia (Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional de Bolivia), to challenge two specific provisions it deems unconstitutional. In the analysis of the Special Rapporteur these provisions indeed “unjustifiably restrict the right to freedom of association under international law, standards and principles”. The first challenged... Continue reading →
