All that jazz about the "wall of shame" of the Syndicat de la magistrature (in french only)

Conference in Rome on June 12th and 14th.

March 2013
Meeting in Brasilia on the occasion of the International Seminar "The Role of Public Prosecution in the Criminal Investigation" conducted by the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Public Democratic Movement, we express our concern over the withdrawal of investigative powers in criminal prosecutors because

1. represents disrespect to the essence of the model built in the Federal Constitution of 1988, the result of the desires of society, which established the Public Prosecutor as an institution essential to citizenship, requesting it, and the defense of collective interests, diffuse and unavailable, the year of action public criminal, always intervening and adjacent towards civil society;
2. the exercise of criminal action efficiently and able to drive the achievement of justice before the Judiciary necessarily imply the ability of the prosecution to produce power, strategically select and obtain the evidence necessary for legal and legitimate demonstration of criminal responsibility of the accused;
3. removal of the investigative power of the prosecutor represents serious attack on Brazilian citizenship, endangering the safety of society and even the important processes in convictions that prosecutors had vital social role;
4. the active participation of the public prosecutor in a criminal investigation, including practicing acts directly when necessary research is essential to the fulfillment of its constitutional duty to protect the fundamental rights of the whole society;
5. internationally, there are unmistakable tendency to strengthen the prosecution seeking punitive efficiency, being indispensable to investigate and to coordinate the work of the judiciary police, and that there is no obvious weakening of international judicial cooperation, which requires the recognition of the status of autonomy and independence of the entities that coordinate criminal investigation in each country;
6. Brazil being the underwriter of the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court, made choice internationally for a model of investigative prosecutor, being internally unthinkable that the prosecutor is unable to investigate and involve kicking and disrespecting principles of international isolation and Brazil compared to other 120 countries that signed the statute.

Federal Prosecutor

Attorney General's Office

Prosecutors Democratic Movement - MPD

European Magistrates for Democracy and Freedoms - Medel

Federation of Associations of Judges for Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean - FJD

Prosecutor of the State of São Paulo

National Association of Members of Public Prosecution - CONAMP

National Association of Prosecutors - ANPR

Paulista Association of Public Prosecution - APMP

College Directors of Schools of Public Ministries of Brazil - CDEMP

National Council of Ombudsmen prosecutors - CNOMP

National Council of Attorneys General - CNPG

School of Public Prosecutor of São Paulo

All associations of judges and prosecutors in Spain have called for demonstrations to protest again the weakening of the Spanish judicial system. Budget cuts directly affect the effectiveness of citizens' rights. In addition, the legal costs rised to an amount that limits access to courts for the poorest.  

In addition, the Spanish government has taken initiatives to undermine judicial independence by limiting the powers of the Council of Justice. It is not acceptable to undermine the separation of powers, the foundation of the rule of law under the pretext of the crisis. 

MEDEL therefore fully support the Spanish Judges and Prosecutors and request the opening of a dialogue to overcome these problems. Faced with the deadlock resulting from the current position of the Spanish government, it is legitimate for judges and prosecutors Spanish warn society about the seriousness of the situation. 

 Spanish judges and prosecutors will protest on Feb. 20th, to protest against the reform of the High Judicial Council and the collapsus of the Judicial system.

 More in Spanish :

• Jueces par la Democracia 
• Union progresista de fiscales

The European Organisation of Magistrates for freedom and liberties,

1. recalling that the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany has held certain provisions of the German Telecommunications Act to be unconstitutional for infringing civil liberties, namely for being unclear about the legal basis of providing customer data to state bodies and for the lack of sufficient thresholds as requirements for such undisclosure of personal data,
2. taking note of the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany has now started a legislative process to amend the Telecommunication Act and on the law governing the provision of customers data (BR-Drs. 664/12),
3. noting that the provisions in the draft

a)      do not draw a definite line about the legal basis for such undisclosure of personal data, but only define to which public bodies the data may be handed over,

b)      do not confine the undisclosure of customer data to individual cases,

c)      do not exclude that the personal data of persons may also be disclosed to facilitate investigations of minor offences,

d)      entirely lack to provide for an information of the customers, whose data have been transmitted, thus practically excludes efficient judicial review,

4. bearing in mind the freedoms and liberties as well as requirements addressing the member states of the EU that are established and protected in international and EU-law, namely

a)      the right to privacy (Article 7 of the Charter and Article 8 ECHR),

b)      the right to the protection of personal data (Article 8 of the Charter),

c)      the right to freedom of expression (Article 11 of the Charter and Article 10 ECHR) and

d)      the right to Good Administration (Article 41 of the Charter),

5. underlining that the said freedoms and liberties largely, and in the age of modern telecommunication increasingly contribute to maintain a society that respects civil liberties and may be called a society in freedom,

i)   expresses sincere doubts about whether the draft pays due respect to the aforementioned and relevant freedoms and liberties, namely as it could be disproportionate, unnecessary or inappropriate to achieve aims, that in themselves are legitimate,

ii)  strongly suggests to invite stakeholders of the civil society and experts to contribute their view on the issue and give enough room for a thorough political discussion,

iii) urges all stakeholders to bear in mind the importance to permanently protect civil liberties and the rule of law, as these are undispensable prerequisites of a society that provides for freedom and security

Dec 2012, 12th.

Human Rights Day presents an opportunity, every year, to celebrate human rights, highlight a specific issue, and advocate for the full enjoyment of all human rights by everyone everywhere.

As the international community strives to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and forge an agenda for economic and social progress in the years beyond, addressing the problem of corruption becomes all the more urgen
t.

Democracy cannot exist without the Rule of Law. The salary contracts as the other contracts are sources of law and provide necessary stability and certainty for to the society in order to keep the social peace.

The magistrates' salaries represent a guarantee of the independence and autonomy of the judicial power. The continuous cuts of salaries contribute to the disruption of the rule of law and democracy (Recommendation R (2010) 12 of the Council of Europe).

The fight of Greek judges and prosecutors for their integrity and their social statute cannot be seen outside of the fight of all the Greek people to keep its dignity. This fight is not only a Greek problem, but a Greek contribution for maintaining the European values as common civilization's heritage.

MEDEL will represent near all the European Institutions the importance and the legitimacy of the Greek judges' and prosecutors' protest.

Faced with a crisis, more than ever, justice must be able to safeguard promises given in the laws and conventions protecting fundamental rights. The solution is not in the abandonment of rights, but in the mobilization for their defence.

We European judges and prosecutors from MEDEL are all, in this moment, Greek judges and prosecutors.

Oct. 22nd, 2012

Colloquium in Paris, Oct. 13th.