Last week, Mr. Blas J. Imbroda, President of the ICB was invited to the Congress of the Iberoamerican Union of Bar Associations and Law Societies, to make a speech at the roundtable "Human Rights and Right to Justice: effective validity?: discrimination, exclusion and new forms of slavery. Challenges and actions to confront for advocacy and society". The event took place at Foz de Iguazú, the Triple border of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

In light of the very serious events that have occurred these days in Nicaragua, in which approximately 40 young people have died as a result of the violence exercised by the police and other government forces when they were peacefully protesting against the reform of the Social Security. The International Criminal Justice and Human Rights Commissions, the Commission of Women Lawyers and the Commission of Cooperation of the Bar Association of Barcelona together with the International Criminal Bar (BPI-ICB-CAPI), after a joint meeting,

Yesterday took place at the Bar Association of Barcelona the conference organized by the ICB, of the former President Mrs. Dilma Rousseff "Brazil: State of exception and threatened democracy", moderated by the Secretary General of the ICB, Mrs. Erika Torregrossa and presented by the president emeritus of the ICB, Mr. Luis del Castillo Aragón.

New year, new member cards of the BPI.

Since the election of the new President Blas J. Imbroda in Valencia, the BPI has worked hard to consolidate and occupy space that we must never lose. The work, effort and struggle of the legal profession in the world for International Criminal Justice, the defense and the values ​​and principles on which it is based form the fight to achieve respect for human rights.

We invite you to read the reports made on the occasion of the Side Event of the 38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council organized by our member Dr. Daniel Mekonnen, last 25th of June in Geneva. Read more...

"If States are permitted to take action against a Judge in violation of the applicable international legal framework, judicial independence—a cornerstone principle of the rule of law—and the integrity of our court as such are fundamentally at risk, as is the overall project of international criminal justice." - Judge Theodor Meron, MICT President

Kudos to Judge Theodor Meron for standing up for Judge Aydin Sefa Akay, and more importantly, for judicial independence. Let’s hope his admonitions do not amount to a lone cry in the wilderness of international justice.

Our President Blas J. Imbroda has met in Washington with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Mr. Luis Almagro Lemes, to present the projects that are being carried out by our association and to offer him the collaboration with the OAS in the defense of Human Rights and International Criminal Justice in America.

The President of the BPI-ICB expressed his satisfaction after the meeting for the topics discussed, and also highlighted the great work done by OAS Secretary General, Dr. Luis Almagro in the defense of Human Rights and democracies in Latin America.

On 8 June 2018, after a 10-year odyssey of proceedings, hundreds of submissions (oral and written), roughly 48 months of trial, 77 witnesses, 733 admitted items of evidence, 1219 written trial decisions and orders, and at the expense of an incredible amount of human and financial resources, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was acquitted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber of all charges (murder and rape as crimes against humanity, murder and rape as war crimes, and pillaging as a war crime) that he was unanimously convicted of by Trial Chamber III (Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner, Judge Joyce Aluoch, and Judge Kuniko Ozaki).

Today, the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia acquitted of the 9 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity attributed to him by the events in the Balkan War.

The sentence, with their respective acquittal comes 13 years after they surrender voluntarily and to grant him permission to return to Belgrade for treatment for an illness.

According to the judges, the prosecution has failed to prove the relationship between the crimes committed, and the speeches of Mr. Seselj. In actual words, he was not the ideologue of ethnic cleansing, in fact, his speeches are harangues words, in any case isn't considered a call to murder.

Today’s guilty verdict handed down by a UN Court in The Hague against former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadžić for genocide and other crimes under international law marks a major step towards justice for victims of the armed conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found Karadžić guilty on one count of genocide, five counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes for his role in the armed conflict, both for his individual responsibility and as part of a joint criminal enterprise.

He was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment. His lawyers have said they will appeal.

The Court convicted Karadžić of genocide in relation to the massacre in Srebrenica, where more than 7,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed. It also found him responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes including the torture, rape and killing in detention of thousands, perpetrated with the intent to systematically remove the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat populations in territories claimed by Bosnian Serbs.

The court found that his role in the siege of Sarajevo was so instrumental that without his support it would not have occurred. It held that the whole population of Sarajevo was terrorized and lived in extreme fear, facing indiscriminate attacks between 1992 and 1995.

He was acquitted of one count of genocide in relation to crimes committed against both Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats in seven municipalities in 1992.

Karadžić held several of the highest positions in the Bosnian-Serb leadership during the three-year war in which his forces were pitted against Bosnian-Muslim and Bosnian-Croat forces, commanding operations against both military forces and the civilian population.

While the death toll from the Bosnian War stands at 100,000, including some 38,000 civilian victims, fewer than 1,000 war crimes cases have been investigated and prosecuted at the state level.

The fate of thousands has still not been revealed. Amnesty International urges authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina to commit truly to resolving the 8,000 outstanding cases of enforced disappearances from the war, and to provide access to truth, justice and reparation for the families.

Since it was established in 1993, the ICTY has indicted 161 persons for crimes under international law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Proceedings have been concluded in the cases of 149 accused, including seven individuals convicted of genocide at Srebrenica. There are still ongoing cases against 12 individuals, including a genocide case against former Bosnian-Serb military leader Ratko Mladić.

The Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) reported today that it will release the verdict in the trial that followed against former Bosnian-Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the war of Bosnia (1992-1995).

We attach the interview with Jordi Palou-Loverdos, a member of BPI-ICB ICB published in the Diari Ara.

Jordi Palou-Loverdos: "The UN has sought to judge and condemn the losers"

Defense lawyer for eight Spanish families victims of violence in Rwanda.

Barcelona lawyer Jordi Palou-Loverdos trying for years to families victims killed in the savage violence Rwandan find and receive justice, but as crimes committed in 1997 and 2000 have had no place in the jurisdiction of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and legislative change in Spain makes it difficult moment can prosecute those responsible, quoting the principles of international justice.