Dear Colleagues,
On the initiative of the European Association of Judges, the International Association of Judges at its annual conference in Mexico City in October 2016, approved the establishment of a Solidarity Fund and elected a Committee of European judges with the discretion to make payments in accordance with regulations to judges and their close families who are in need in countries where the EAJ has (or had) member associations. The object of the fund (formalised in January 2017) is to assist judges and prosecutors who have been suspended detained or face other State sanction, including prosecution simply because of the proper exercise of their functions. The Committee has the power to authorise payment to include contributions to legal expenses and subsistence to the immediate family of the judge where there is hardship resulting from the State action. The Fund is confined to support in cases of improper state action, meaning action that breaches international principles for respecting the independence of the judiciary including the absence of fair and transparent investigative procedures to ensure that disciplinary or criminal action is confined to cases where there is reasonable basis for a conclusion that there has been a breach of the criminal law or judicial code of conduct and the measures taken are necessary and proportionate.
The Fund does not target any particular state and its restricted purpose means it is not a legal aid fund for any judge accused of wrongdoing. However, the tragic events in Turkey (where over 3,000 judges and prosecutors have been summarily suspended, dismissed or detained in breach of internationally accepted standards relating to the independence of the judiciary) mean that the EAJ expects to receive a number of applications from former Turkish judges and their immediate families for support. All funds raised here will be paid directly to the Fund by me.
Derek O'Carroll