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Opinion on Matters to Be Included in the Kyoto Declaration at the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice


Opinion (full text) (PDFファイル;100KB)

 

April 18 2019

Japan Federation of Bar Associations


The Japan Federation of Bar Associations prepared its “Opinion on Matters to Be Included in the Kyoto Declaration at the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice” (the “Opinion”) on April 18, 2019, and submitted it to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on May 16, 2019.



Summary of the Opinion


The Japanese Federation of Bar Associations (the "JFBA") urges representatives of the participating countries of the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (hereinafter referred to as the "Kyoto Congress") held in 2020 to include the following in the Kyoto Declaration to be adopted in Congress:


1 It shall be reaffirmed that the roles of lawyers, key players in criminal justice, are essential to the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and culture of lawfulness, and the maintenance and development of criminal justice in harmony with sustainable development, and the following objectives shall be addressed:


(1) Make it known once again that all States, including the judiciary, should comply with the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers adopted at the 8th Congress (hereinafter referred to as the "Basic Principles") as the minimum standards of criminal justice in all States.


(2) Consider international mechanisms to ensure that basic principles are observed in each State, in consultation with international professional associations of lawyers and national bar associations.


2 The Basic Principles shall be expanded to include that one of the roles of bar associations and other professional associations of lawyers in fulfilling the roles of the lawyers set forth in the preceding paragraph is to protect and defend its members against inappropriate restrictions or violations to lawyers, and that the roles of such bar associations and other professional associations of lawyers should be protected by national law.


3 In order to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (hereinafter referred to as the "2030 Agenda") in the field of criminal justice, the following objectives shall be addressed:


(1) It shall be the duty of the State to realize a society in which a person who commits a crime can reintegrate themselves into society.


(2) In all penal institutions, treatment of detainees will be realized in compliance with the “United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners” (hereinafter referred to as "the Nelson Mandela Rules").


(3) Forced labour in prisons should be abolished.


4 The death penalty system should be abolished as soon as possible in the international community. In addition, the implementation of the death penalty should be suspended until the death penalty system has been abolished.


5 Effective civil participation shall be promoted in education and in all sectors of society to create a society resilient to crimes, and the following shall be addressed:


(1) To develop awareness-raising programmes for thinking about specific challenges and issues through dialogue and discussion in light of legal values such as human rights and the rule of law, and to promote the culture of lawfulness.


(2) Promote educational practices for coordinating and resolving social conflicts through mechanisms of dialogue and community participation.


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