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MEDEL wishes to express its serious concern over the impact on rescue at sea activities of the provisions introduced in Italian legislation by the so-called “security decree bis” (n.53 of June 14, 2019), recently approved by Parliament.
It can be easily foreseen that the possibility for the Minister of Interior to limit or forbid the entering, passage or stopping in the territorial sea for reasons of “public order or security”, with extremely harsh sanctions for any violation, will unavoidably put an end to rescue operations implemented in the Mediterranean by NGOs.
We have witnessed for a long time the “criminalization” by politicians and media of the activity of volunteers, trying to convey to the public opinion the idea that there is a connection between rescuers and traffickers. The constant portraying of immigration as a danger to public security served in these months as support to the “closed ports policy”, that is at odds with any elementary sense of humanity as well as with States’ international human rights obligations.
MEDEL – Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés, wishes to congratulate David Sassoli for his election as President of the European Parliament.
MEDEL had the honour of hosting David Sassoli as speaker in the conference “IMMIGRATION POLICY – FOR A EUROPE OF RIGHTS AND SOLIDARITY”, organised in March 2019 in Rome, Italy.
MEDEL is certain that in his new position, David Sassoli will promote the rights of immigrants and a humanitarian approach to the European Immigration Policy, in line with his intervention in Rome, and will be an advocate for protecting the Rule of Law in the European Union.
MEDEL welcomes the ECJ verdict delivered on 24 June 2019 (C-619/18) – the first in a series of “rule of law” rulings regarding Poland.
The Court stressed, that although the organisation of justice in the Member States falls within the competence of the latter, the fact remains that, when exercising that competence, the Member States are required to comply with their obligations under EU law.
It follows that the Member States must put in place remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection, within the meaning of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in the fields covered by EU law Thus every Member State must, under the second subparagraph of Article19(1) TEU, ensure that the bodies which, as ‘courts or tribunals’ within the meaning of EU law, come within its judicial system in those fields meet the requirements of that protection. To ensure that a body such as the Supreme Court is in a position to offer such protection, maintaining its independence is essential.
In just a week, the European judiciary has lost two of its most relevant and brilliant voices, and MEDEL saw the departure of two of its founding members: Christian Wettinck and Salvatore Senese.
In this sad moment, MEDEL pays tribute to these exceptional magistrates and pledges to keep building what they fought for during their entire lives: a Europe of Justice and Solidarity, where Human Rights are respected and where the most weak are protected by a truly independent Judiciary.
The current members of MEDEL will always follow their example and through our actions and our continuing struggle, Wettinck and Senese's life and thoughts will forever remain with us.
The extraordinary situation of violation of the independence of the judiciary in Turkey has induced all four European Associations of Judges to join together in their activities:
• The Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ),
• The European Association of Judges (EAJ),
• Judges for Judges and
• “Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés” (MEDEL)
And form a Platform: Platform for an Independent Judiciary in Turkey.
Since its creation, the Platform has been working together to promote the independence of the Judiciary in Turkey and the right to freedom and a fair trial to all the Judges and Prosecutors detained.
Here we gather the main documents issued by the Platform:
Platform Letter Council Europe - 1-8-2016-4SG1.89 MB
Platform Letter Council Europe - 1-8-2016-4PACE1.9 MB
Situation of Turkish Judiciary - Platform Report417.14 KB
Turkey Platform Conclusions163.96 KB
Statement on the eve of the EU-Turkey leaders’ meeting in Varna114.84 KB
70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its observation in Turkey160.88 KB
Criminal conviction of Mr Murat Arslan117.89 KB
Links to the other member association webpages of the Platform:
The Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ)
The European Association of Judges (EAJ), Regional Group of the International Association of Judges (IAJ)
On Saturday, June 22nd 2019, MEDEL will hold its next Council of Administration in Prague, Czech Republic.
The previous day, Friday June 21st, in cooperation with the Prague City Hall, MEDEL and its Czech member association SOUDCOVSKÁ UNIE ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY will organize the international conference
"Increasing Psychological Resistance of a Judge",
with the following program:
On Saturday, June 22nd 2019, MEDEL will hold its next Council of Administration in Prague, Czech Republic.
The previous day, Friday June 21st, in cooperation with the Prague City Hall, MEDEL and its Czech member association SOUDCOVSKÁ UNIE ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY will organize the international conference
"Increasing Psychological Resistance of a Judge",
with the following program:
The recent declarations made by the Italian Interior Minister are unacceptable and a serious breach of the Rule of Law. MEDEL has issued today a statement in that regard:
On the 23rd of May, pronounced by MEDEL as the Alert Day for the Independence of Justice in Europe, MEDEL invited to reflect on the need for an independent and effective justice all over Europe and its importance for the safeguard of European citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms, as very dark signs have arisen all over Europe in recent years, inside and outside the European Union.
Unfortunately, few days have passed until another shocking and worrying example of the threats referred to by MEDEL came to light - the attack from the Italian Interior Minister against the judges who issued decisions on the matter of international protection of asylum-seekers and migrants.
The recent declarations made by the Italian Interior Minister are unacceptable and a serious breach of the Rule of Law. MEDEL has issued today a statement in that regard:
On the 23rd of May, pronounced by MEDEL as the Alert Day for the Independence of Justice in Europe, MEDEL invited to reflect on the need for an independent and effective justice all over Europe and its importance for the safeguard of European citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms, as very dark signs have arisen all over Europe in recent years, inside and outside the European Union.
Unfortunately, few days have passed until another shocking and worrying example of the threats referred to by MEDEL came to light - the attack from the Italian Interior Minister against the judges who issued decisions on the matter of international protection of asylum-seekers and migrants.
Unión Progresista de Fiscales, the Spanish Prosecutor's association member of MEDEL, has awarded last saturday the Jesus Vicente Chamorro prize to Murat Arslan, president of YARSAV, in the closing dinner of the annual Congress, in the presence of the Spanish General Prosecutor.
The prize is awarded every year to a personality who has excelled in the promotion and defense of Human Rights.
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