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SADC
leaders unlawfully undermine Regional Tribunal, say legal groups
Southern African
NGOs
November 11, 2010
Heads of State
from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have unlawfully
sabotaged the SADC Tribunal and undermined the right of citizens
to access justice, according to a legal
opinion submitted on Friday by a group of respected legal and
human rights organisations.
The opinion
contends that SADC leaders - particularly at the last Heads
of State Summit in Windhoek - have deliberately undermined
the Tribunal by violating regional laws and acting unconstitutionally.
"SADC
leaders have unlawfully ensured that the Tribunal - a critical
legal institution - can no longer function, leaving citizens
without legal remedy at the regional level," said Nicole Fritz,
Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. "Instead
of abiding by SADC laws, our leaders have willingly and unanimously
violated them - and violated our right to access justice as
well."
According to the legal opinion, SADC leaders have acted unlawfully
by effectively suspending the Tribunal - by making sure that
it is not properly constituted and so cannot operate. SADC laws
require that the Tribunal be comprised of no fewer than ten judges
but the leaders have violated these laws - by failing to renew
the terms of those judges eligible for reappointment or to appoint
new judges to fill any vacancies so that the Tribunal no longer
has enough judges to hear new cases.
The seven national,
regional and international legal organisations that endorsed the
opinion also believe that SADC leaders have acted beyond their constitutionally
given powers and violated judicial independence and the right to
effective legal remedy.
"We are
also very concerned that the decision to sabotage the Tribunal was
taken in bad faith - to appease Zimbabwe and to ensure that
it did not have to comply with a series of rulings related to land
seizures," said Fritz. "Once again, our leaders have
shown that they do not take decisions based on what-s good
for their people - but what-s best for them and the
elites in power across the region."
However, the
legal NGOs argue that SADC-s leaders can remedy the illegality
of their recent decisions and resucitate the Tribunal by:
- Calling
for an immediate extraordinary Summit to review and remedy the
decisions taken in Windhoek;
- Renewing
the terms of those Tribunal judges eligible for reappointment
or appointing sufficient new judges to ensure the proper functioning
of the Tribunal;
- Respecting
- in accordance with international law - the independence
of the judiciary by upholding the right of Tribunal members to
security of tenure and independence; and,
- Ensuring
SADC citizens have access to justice and an effective remedy at
regional level.
"Even
outside the legal context, the repercussions of this decision are
grave", said Fritz. "SADC asks that its regional integration
project be taken seriously and yet at so critical a point in time
effectively disbands an institution which is vital to this project."
List
of NGOs:
- Southern
Africa Litigation Centre, SALC
- Centre for
Human Rights and Rehabilitation - Malawi
- Ditshwanelo,
The Botswana Centre for Human Rights
- International
Commission of Jurists, ICJ - Africa Regional Office
- Legal Assistance
Centre, Namibia
- Open Society
Justice Initiative, OSJI
- Socio-Economic
Rights Institute of South Africa, SERI
- Zimbabwe
Exiles Forum
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