Dear Colleagues,
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
I have delayed writing to you until now in the hope that the position with the COVID-19 pandemic might have become clearer, but that seems to be unlikely in the medium term. The experience in each of our countries is both similar and different, and the stresses upon the legal systems, democracy, and the Rule of Law is not to be underestimated. Nonetheless, I hope that this email finds you and your family as well as can be expected in these difficult times, and that we will soon all be through this most terrible time in our lives.
The Presidency Committee of the IAJ has continued to work as best we have been able to through electronic means. The regional meetings, have, unfortunately had to be cancelled and until recently we were hopeful that the meeting planned for September in Costa Rica might still go ahead. It is now April and the ability of our colleagues in Costa Rica to plan confidently for a conference in September is not realistic.
The members of the Presidency Committee met informally last week via internet video conferencing facility and have planned to meet again immediately after Easter to decide on what will be done in respect of the requirement imposed upon us to hold a meeting of Central Council. I note also that 2020 is an election year but the complexities of holding a meeting of Central Council in 2020 cannot be underestimated. For the moment, however, I thought I should let you know that we are actively considering what should be done and that we hope to be in a position immediately after Easter to give you an indication of our proposals. I thought it fair also to let you know that the meeting that had been planned for Costa Rica this September cannot realistically be held.
On a broader note may I commend to you the paper published on our website on Saturday 4 April by First Vice President Jose Igreja Matos and titled Being a judge in times of pandemic. These are difficult times for us all with many stresses upon democracy and the Rule of Law as I mentioned above. It is also a time, however, when we can learn much about ourselves and about the importance of the Rule of Law and of the independence of a judiciary. It is precisely during times of pandemic that both are essential. The difficult measures, which have been put in place right throughout the world, cannot too confidently be maintained, and cannot be preserved unless there is the Rule of Law and the confidence of an independent judiciary to apply those laws fairly.
Yours faithfully,
The Hon G T Pagone QC
President, International Association of Judges