The Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC) expresses grave concern about the draft national security legislation that is set to be imposed on Hong Kong following the anticipated passage of the draft decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to safeguard national security  (“the...

The international legal community is seriously concerned by the arrest of 15 veteran pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong on Saturday 18 April 2020. In what appears to be a further clampdown on civil liberties and democracy following the 2019 protests, which began over the introduction of a controversial extradition bill, those arrested today include senior...

On 1 April 2020, BHRC and the Bar Council wrote to the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, expressing grave concern regarding the introduction of legislation on Monday 30 March granting sweeping emergency powers to the Hungarian executive as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Secretary for Cooperation in European and...

The Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee have written to the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, expressing grave concern regarding the introduction of legislation on Monday 30 March granting sweeping emergency powers to the Hungarian executive as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter notes the absence of a time limit...

The Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee have written to the Polish President and Prime Minister, and Marshals of the Senate and Sejm, on the worsening rule of law crisis in the country. In particular they address their serious concerns as to the motion filed by the National Prosecution Office to the Disciplinary Chamber of the...