Mexico 2024: Rule of Law Symposium

Stephen Denyer, who sadly passed away in early 2024, was honoured with the IBA Benjamin B Ferencz Rule of Law Lifetime Achievement Award at this session.

Adam Goodman, Co-Chair of the IBA Rule of Law Forum, and many other IBA officers, paid tribute to him. Stephen's wife Monika accepted the Award on his behalf.

The world still faces unique challenges to ensure access to justice and protect human rights. Pro bono work has become a crucial tool in addressing these challenges by providing vital legal assistance to those who cannot afford it and by mobilising lawyers who can offer expertise in cases with potential widespread impact. The intersection of pro bono efforts, access to justice and human rights violation are complex and multifaceted.

This session will explore: the current issues in defending and protecting the rule of law in the Americas and the status of this battle around world; the problem of regressing; rethinking colonial influences and powers in Caribbean courts and impact on human rights; and the role of the lawyers and law firms in rule of law matters.

The territory of the Americas suffered five-hundred years of European colonisation mostly from the Spanish, Portuguese and English, and to a lesser extent from the French and Dutch. They brought their culture and legislation to a new continent, and some of the laws were cruel, inhumane and degrading. This panel will debate the rule of law in the Americas with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. The discussion will touch upon four topics which are topical in the Americas today: the regression of the rule of law in Venezuela and Mexico; the role of British colonial powers in hindering the development of the rule of law in the Caribbean; the status and impact of these problems around the world; and the role of lawyers and law firms in these matters.

The issue of how democratic legitimacy and the rule of law interact has been challenging in a number of jurisdictions including Israel, the UK and the US. In each of these countries there are clashes between politicians and the judges as to which has primacy – in one case this relates to whether the president/prime minister has been legitimately elected or not and, in the others, whether processes in the elected assembly or changes to law which affect the judiciary or the judicial process are legitimate.