The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) addresses their Excellencies and Highness, Arab presidents and rulers convening at the Sudanese capital Khartoum for the 18th session on 28 and 29 March, 2006, as well as to the President to the current session and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States concerning the following:
- Many of the Arab Constitutions are in consensus concerning the need for the independence of the Judiciary Authority and that it has become a solid fact in the civilized world that the Judiciary Institutions and its independence represent an active part of the main structures necessary for economic and social development and that the objective that Judiciary Institutions seek to achieve is justice because it leads to stability and progress.
- The Judiciary is an authority that possesses its own entity, features and independence. It should be treated as an equal to the two other Authorities.
- An independent judiciary is the refuge of citizens, including the rulers and the governed. It guarantees the protection of their rights and the preservation of their freedom and their natural feeling of justice.
- An independent judiciary is the means of the ruler chosen by his people to safeguard against those who violate the nation’s will. It is also the means of the governed against those who seize power or who take refuge in power and impose humiliation by force of deceit or oppression.
- This image of the Judiciary Authority gives a strong root to the mentioned meanings in the Arab reality and emphasizes them in the minds of citizens. It also gives it stability in practice in a way that protects the Arab social, economic and political reality against the threat of crises and instability.
Thus, the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) addresses their Highness and their Excellency the Arab rulers and presidents, who are in charge of the interests of the people of this nation to give consideration to guaranteeing the actual and real independence of the Judiciary Authority in all Arab countries.
ACIJLP also addresses those convening in the summit to give consideration to the following:
- The circumstances of the countries of the region and the climate that raises many political and international issues that are very serious for the future of this nation and its people, as well as the incidents affecting this region, previous and current crimes committed on its land.
- The Arab region is in strong need for a permanent international criminal court that deters perpetrators of mass cleansing and mass murder, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity, the majority of which have been and are committed against Arab people as history tells us.
Thus, ACIJLP calls for presenting the issue of ratifying or joining the permanent International Criminal Court for discussion among the Arab delegations participating in the Summit. ACIJLP also pleads with Arab governments to make sure that Arab people do not miss the opportunity of joining this international mechanism that seeks to establish international criminal justice which has become a reality the presence of which can not be denied or ignored.
