The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers contain a concise listing of international norms holding rights and responsibilities for lawyers aimed at securing that they can conduct their profession in an independent manner. One of the main purposes of the Basic Principles is to assist States in their task of promoting the proper role of lawyers and ensuring lawyers’ functioning without any improper interference.
Lawyers for Lawyers in collaboration with De Brauw organized an event that is dedicated to this important UN document. The role and substance of the Basic Principles were discussed and Hay Pahaniaila and Aleh Volchak discussed their experiences practicing law in Belarus.
Also, two Lawyers for Lawyers initiatives with respect to the promotion of the Basic Principles were launched:
The book “Building on Basic Principles” was presented. This book, published by NJCM (the Dutch branch of the International Commission of Jurists), is the result of the Lawyers for Lawyers’ 25th anniversary Expert Meeting on the Basic Principles. First copies of the book were presented to Germ Kemper, Dean of the Amsterdam Bar Association and Dolf Segaar, member of the Board of CMS Derks Star Busmann.
The newly developed Basic Principles database, integrated in the Lawyers for Lawyers website was demonstrated. This is an advocacy-tool, developed by a team of lawyers of De Brauw, that makes a wealth of information on the Basic Principles accessible to lawyers and others worldwide.
