International Council of Jurists

The International Council of Jurists[lower-alpha 1] (ICJ) is a company based in London, England that organizes seminars and conferences in London and India, and gives out awards. It charges fees for membership, conference sponsorship and advertising. In April 2020 its president, Adish Aggarwala, launched a conspiracy theory in which he claimed the Chinese had deliberately launched the COVID-19 pandemic to further its ambitions to become a superpower. The Indian government disowned any connection with the ICJ and its views, but the story created a sensation in the Indian press.

International Council of Jurists
AbbreviationICJ
Formation2007 (2007)
FounderAdish Aggarwala
TypeLimited company
PurposePromotion of administration of justice
Headquarters134 Buckingham Palace Road, London, England
Coordinates51.494288°N 0.147062°W / 51.494288; -0.147062
Region
Global
President
Adish Aggarwala
Co-President
Awn Al-Khasawneh
Websiteinternationaljurists.org

Status

The International Council of Jurists (ICJ) is made up of jurists from different countries. It is engaged in research, and has arranged conferences and seminars on subjects such as human rights and constitutional duties.[2] The president, Adish Aggarwala, is also chairman of the All India Bar Association (AIBA) and co-author of a coffee-table book titled Narendra Modi: A Charismatic & Visionary Statesman, with a foreword by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.[3]

The International Council of Jurists was incorporated on 23 October 2007 and is registered as Company Number 06407095 at the Companies House. It is "private limited by guarantee without share capital, use of 'Limited' exemption". The office address was given as 134 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SA.[4] The ultimate beneficial owner is Mr Kumar Amit.[5] The company charges fees for membership, conference sponsorship and advertising.[6][7]

Activities

2009

In 2009 at an ICJ ceremony in London Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers presented Bird & Bird with an award as "Global Law Firm of the Year 2009 – An International Firm with substantive local legal expertise". Awards were also given to K. G. Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Dominic Grieve, the UK Shadow Minister of Justice, Professor J. Martin Hunter, Khawar Qureshi and Frances Gibb, Legal Affairs Editor at The Times.[8] Later that year the International Conference of Jurists was organized in New Delhi by the International Council of Jurists, the All India Bar Association, the All India Senior Advocates Association and the Indian Council of Jurists. Pratibha Patil, the president of India, presented the 2009 International Jurists Award to Donald C. Johnson, director of the Dean Rusk Center at the University of Georgia.[9] Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore, also received the International Jurist Award in 2009.[10]

Mr. Suresh Sharma, President of All India Law Students' Association being honored at International Council of Jurists 2010

2011

In 2011 Vijay J. Darda, a Congress MP and chairman of the Lokmat Group, received the International Jurists Award for his contribution in the field of legal education in rural areas. The award was presented by Lord Phillips in London on 21 June 2011.[11]

2012

In May 2012 the International Council of Jurists held a conference in London to cover a range of topics including judicial reforms and the role of jurists in nuclear disarmament. The 2012 ICJ Award was conferred by Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, on Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, one of the ICJ vice-presidents.[12] The second recipient of the 2012 ICJ Award was Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for his support to the development of the legal fraternity in India. He was not present to receive the award in person.[13][lower-alpha 2]

2013

In 2013 the International Council of Jurists wrote a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka that supported impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, a vice-president of the ICJ, dissociated himself from this letter in a statement on the website of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Neither Chaudhry nor the two British jurists named as vice-presidents on the ICJ website, Navnit Dholakia, Baron Dholakia and Gavin Lightman, had been aware of the letter. Gavin Lightman resigned from the ICJ.[15]

Sundaresh Menon, Chief Justice of Singapore, in 2019

The International Council of Jurists and the University of Mumbai jointly organized a lecture on 19 April 2013 in Mumbai. Sundaresh Menon spoke on The Impact of Public International Law in the Commercial Sphere and Its Significance to Asia.[16] Menon, Chief Justice of Singapore, received the International Jurist Award.[10] The 2013 International Conference of Jurists was scheduled for London on 25–26 June 2013. Aggarwala said it would continue discussions that had started in a recent ICJ session in Delhi. Topics included human rights and ways to curb terrorism.[17]

2014

The ICJ held a convention in London in June 2014, with working sessions on mediation, freedom of information (issues and challenges); the press; law and ethics; terrorism, human rights and immigration; the relationship between the judiciary, legislature and the executive; arbitration; protection of intellectual property rights; and corporate governance.[18] Roy G. Spece, Jr., John D. Lyons Professor of Law at the University of Arizona, spoke on Separation of Powers and on The Role of Legal Education in Modern Society.[19]

Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, High Commissioner of Jamaica to the United Kingdom, received the 2014 International Jurists Award for her contributions to Alternative Dispute Resolution. Assamba was cochair of the session on Mediation.[18] Peter Tomka, president of the International Court of Justice, presented Ashok Chauhan, Founder President of the Amity Education Group, with the International Council of Jurists Award 2014 for his contribution to legal education.[20] Awards were also given to Mark Stephens, President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and author J. K. Rowling.[18] The ceremony was attended by chief justices, ministers, judges, members of parliament and other prominent people.[20]

2015

In October 2015 Adish C. Aggarwala gave an interview to The Dollar Business in which he called for change to the working of investigating agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, FEMA, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). He said these agencies reacted to issues with private sector banks, but tended to ignored information about transactions through public sector undertakings and public sector banks, which they expected to be genuine.[21]

2017

In 2017 the International Council of Jurists asked the Chief Justice of India to order an inquiry into allegations of irregularities against a senior sitting Supreme Court of India judge. A committee investigating allegations against two Odisha high court judges had dropped their inquiry when they found the Supreme Court judge might be involved.[22] The ICJ noted that the Chief Justice of India in 2013 had pressed the Sri Lankan government to launch an impeachment probe of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Adish Aggarwala said it was extremely rare for the ICJ to involve itself in cases related to judicial appointments.[22]

2019

On 11 July 2019 Brunei Chief Justice Dato Paduka Steven Chong was awarded the International Jurists Award 2019 for life-long contribution to administration of justice. Adish Aggarwala presented the award at the Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam.[10]

Coronavirus conspiracy theory

In April 2020 the ICJ president President Adish Aggarwala made a statement on the COVID-19 pandemic in which he said "This pandemic declared by the WHO is primarily due to conspiracy of Chinese government aimed at catapulting itself to the position of a superpower of the World and undermining other countries through biological warfare".[2] Aggarwala said it was a mystery that the virus had not spread in all provinces of China but had spread to all countries in the world.[23] He filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in which he listed the People's Republic of China, People's Liberation Army and Wuhan Institute of Virology as respondents.[24][25] He called on the UNHRC to order China to pay "exemplary damages to the entire world and in particular to India" for spreading the disease.[26] The Indian government hastened to state that they did not share these views and had no relations with the International Council of Jurists.[2]

Office bearers

According to the ICJ website, as of July 2020 the office bearers were:[27]

OfficeIncumbentOther positions
PresidentAdish AggarwalaChairman, All India Bar Association, President, India Legal Information Institute
Co-PresidentAwn Al-Khasawnehformer Prime Minister of Jordan, former Vice President, International Court of Justice
Vice-PresidentIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhryformer Chief Justice of Pakistan
Vice-PresidentSurendra Kumar SinhaChief Justice of Bangladesh
Vice-PresidentDavid LammyMember of Parliament (United Kingdom)
Vice-PresidentHolger MattFormer Chairman, European Criminal Bar Association[lower-alpha 3]
General SecretaryAugustino RamadhaniJudge, African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, former Chief Justice of Tanzania[lower-alpha 4]
General SecretaryAbdullah SaeedChief Justice of the Maldives
Honorary SecretaryAndrew K.C. NyirendaChief Justice of Malawi
Honorary SecretaryAlnashir VisramJudge of the Court of Appeal of Kenya
Honorary SecretaryJames M. FarleyFormer Judge, Supreme Court of Ontario (Canada)
Honorary SecretaryPhạm Quốc AnhPresident, Vietnam Lawyers Association

Notes
  1. The International Council of Jurists founded in 2007 is not to be confused with the former International Council of Jurists active in the 1960s with its headquarters in Geneva, an NGO with the power of an advisory committee of the United Nations with members from over 60 countries.[1]
  2. The ICJ president Adish Aggarwala was advocate general of Uttar Pradesh when Mulayam Singh Yadav was chief minister.[14]
  3. The ICJ website describes Holger Matt as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom). This is incorrect. He is a German lawyer who was Chairman, European Criminal Bar Association in 2012.[12]
  4. Augustino Ramadhani died in April 2020.[28]

Citations
  2. Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (8 April 2020). "International Council of Jurists views doesn't reflect Indian govt". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  4. "International Council of Jurists". companieshouse.gov.uk. Companies House. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. "Membership Fee". internationaljurists.org. International Council of Jurists. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. "For India Conference". internationaljurists.org. International Council of Jurists. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. "Bird & Bird receives award for Global Law Firm of the Year 2009 by the International Council of Jurists". twobirds.com. Bird & Bird. June 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. Kamel, Mohamad Jazmi bin Hj Mohamad (11 July 2019). "Chief Justice of Supreme Court Receives International Jurist Award". judiciary.gov.bn. Prime Minister's Office, Brunei Darussalam. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. "International Council of Jurists Honours Vijay Darda with International Jurists Award". India Infoline News Service. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. "Mulayam receives International Jurists Award 2012". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  14. Tiwari, Ravish (24 March 2012). "Behind Mulayam jurist award,a gift of land". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  15. "'Council Of Jurists' Exposed: Pakistani CJ Disassociates Himself From Letter To MR, British Jurists Have No Connection To The Council". Colombo Telegraph. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  20. "International Council of Jurists confers Ashok Chauhan of Amity with International Jurists Award-2014". ANI Online. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  21. Nikesh, Sai (13 October 2015). "Forex scam: Bankl of Baroda says branch 'didn't adhere' to norms". The Dollar Business. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  22. "ICJ wants CJI to order probe against SC judge". The Asian Age. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  23. "London-based International Council of Jurists urges UNHRC to impose 'exemplary damages' on China for spreading coronavirus". The Hindu. New Delhi. Press Trust of India. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  24. "President of International Council of Jurists files complaint in UNHRC against China". Goa Chronicle. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  25. Goyal, Vaibhav (6 April 2020). "International Council of Jurists Move UNHRC against China Seeking COVID-19 Reparations". Law Times Journal. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  26. "International Council of Jurists seeks UNHRC to impose 'exemplary damages' on China for spreading coronavirus". Deccan Herald. New Delhi. Press Trust of India. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  27. "Present Office Bearers". internationaljurists.org. International Council of Jurists. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

>"Ambassador Assamba receives International Jurist Award". Jamaica Observer. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2020.</ref>

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] }}

  1. "Weakest democracy better than martial law: CJ". The News International. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. "International Council of Jurists". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. "International Conference of Jurists to be held in London". Business Standard. New Delhi. Press Trust of India. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. "Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon: Speech at Lecture jointly organised by the International Council of Jurists and the University of Mumbai". supremecourt.gov.sg. Supreme Court of Singapore. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. "Retired Chief Justice Augustino Ramadhan is dead". The Citizen. Tanzania. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. Mandhani, Apoorva (4 April 2020). "ICJ president & co-author of Modi book moves UNHRC blaming China for Covid-19 'conspiracy'". ThePrint. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. "Prof. Roy Spece a Distinguished Guest of the International Council of Jurists". law.arizona.edu. University of Arizona. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  8. "Donald C. Johnson, 2009 International Jurists Award". UGA Today. University of Georgia. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  9. "International Council of Jurists Inquires About People Arrested After November Coup d'Etat". News from Viet-Nam. Vol. 7 no. 3. Press and Information Office, Embassy of the Republic of Viet-Nam. March 1961. pp. 5–6.
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