Human Rights Awards 2007

The annual Human Rights Awards were held on 10 December 2007. The Human Rights Awards are the joint venture of Liberty and JUSTICE. They are held every year in December to commemorate International Human Rights Day. The ceremony aims to recognise and encourage individuals and organisations whose work is dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of others. Too often, this dedication is not taken into account and our event seeks to provide an opportunity of recognition and celebration.

The winners were:

Human Rights Lawyer of the Year: Shaheed Fatima
For her remarkable work, often on a pro bono basis. For her brilliant analysis, consistent arguments and commitment in debating human rights cases before both the British and the European Courts.

Also nominated were Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE and Mark Muller QC

The Peter Duffy Award*: Maya Evans
For her campaigning work and commitment to the cause of liberty. For her courage in standing up for our fundamental rights to peaceful protest and freedom of speech.

Also nominated were Catharina Harby and Sally Middleton

*The Peter Duffy Award commemorates the life and achievements of one of the UK's most highly dedicated human rights lawyers. Peter Duffy QC was particularly supportive of younger lawyers, giving freely of his time and skills. An important part of his human rights work was done pro bono for organisations, including Liberty and JUSTICE.

The joint winners of The Human Rights Award were Kids Company
For their ground-breaking and inspirational work in helping this country’s most disadvantaged children and young people
and INQUEST
For their high-quality specialist casework and for their commitment to providing incontrovertible evidence of the serious human rights abuses of children in custody.

Aslyum Aid were also shortlisted

The Judges' Award 2007 was awarded to Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC for a lifetime of achievement in the service of human rights

The awards were supported by Allen and Overy and were hosted by the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics.

The Panel of Judges:
Francesca Klug OBE (LSE Centre for the Study of Human Rights)
Guy Beringer QC (Allen & Overy LLP)
Roger Smith (JUSTICE)
Shami Chakrabarti (Liberty)

Human Rights Awards 2006
The annual Human Rights Awards were held on 12 December 2006. The awards are the joint venture of Liberty and JUSTICE and the 2006 ceremony was kindly hosted by the international law firm Herbert Smith.

The awards aim to recognise and encourage individuals and organisations whose work is dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of others. The awards are held in commemoration of UN International Human Rights Day, to honour the dedication and commitment shown by the UK human rights community.

The winners of the 2006 awards were:

• Human Rights Lawyer of the year was awarded to Rabinder Singh QC for his outstanding commitment to human rights. For his extraordinary intellect and advocacy of the rule of law.

  Also short-listed were: Dexter Dias and Mark Muller QC

• The Human Rights Award was awarded to Southall Black Sisters for their commitment to defending women who face violence and abuse. For their work on drafting a Private member's Bill providing civil remedies for victims of forced marriage.

  Also short-listed were: George Mwangi, Action on Rights for Children and Pauline Levis
  

• Peter Duffy Award was awarded to Henrietta Hill for her pro bono work in defence of human rights and for her pivotal role in a number of cases. For having assisted different organisations with energy and invaluable commitment.

  Also short-listed were: Mark Titchner and Alison Gerry
  

Speakers at the event included Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws QC, human rights expert, barrister and broadcaster; Roger Smith, Director of JUSTICE and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty.

The panel of judges:

Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE PC
David Gold (Herbert Smith)
Francesca Klug OBE (LSE Centre for Human Rights)
Roger Smith (JUSTICE)
Shami Chakrabarti (Liberty).

JUSTICE / Liberty Human Rights Awards 2005

The ceremony for the annual JUSTICE / Liberty / Law Society Human Rights Awards was held in front of a capacity audience at the Law Society in London's Chancery Lane on Monday 12 December.

The writer and broadcaster Marcel Berlins, as master of ceremonies, introduced Roger Smith and Shami Chakrabarti, directors of JUSTICE and Liberty respectively, who each gave an outline of their organisation's perspective on the current situation with regards human rights in the UK.

The winners

• Human Rights Lawyer of the Year was awarded to Michael Fordham of Blackstone Chambers. The award was given in recognition of Michael's dedication and pro bono commitment to the development of human rights in a range of areas. These include opposing unjust ASBOs, defending the rights of protesters and highlighting UK accountability for torture and deaths in detention in Iraq.

  Simon Creighton, of Bhatt Murphy Solicitors and Richard Gifford of Sheridans Solicitors were also shortlisted in this category.

• The Human Rights Award, for organisations or non legal individuals, was awarded to the Refugee Legal Centre, for its consistent and fearless use of the law to protect human rights and hold immigration and asylum policies up to the scrutiny of the courts.

  Also shortlisted were the Campaign Against Criminalising Communities and Brian Haw, who is mounting a vigil outside parliament in protest at the Iraq war.

• The Peter Duffy Award, aimed at those aged 35 or under, was won by Voice of Young People, a youth-led project, which has devised, directed and produced a thought-provoking documentary challenging negative perceptions of young people.
  
  Natalie Daniels of Clifford Chance and Victoria Prais of the Immigration Advisory Service were also shortlisted.

JUSTICE and Liberty are very grateful to the Law Society, for hosting the ceremony, and to the Bar Council and the Institute of Legal Executives for their support of the awards.

JUSTICE and Liberty announce the recipients of the 2004 Human Rights Awards organised in association with the Law Society

The awards were presented at a ceremony on Thursday 9 December.

The event featured contributions from Sheena McDonald, the writer and broadcaster and Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian.

The awards are the joint venture of JUSTICE, Liberty and the Law Society. They aim to honour the commitment and dedication shown by human rights campaigners in the UK.

Human Rights Lawyer of the Year - Phil Shiner
For outstanding skill and tenacity in taking test cases to protect the rights of Iraqi civilians tortured and killed by British forces. For personal sacrifice and professional dedication in fighting for justice and individual rights.

Also shortlisted were:
Professor David Feldman (Downing College, Cambridge), Andrew Hall QC (Doughty Street Chambers) and Martin Soorjoo (Tooks Chambers)

Human Rights Award 2004 - Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition
For exceptional achievement in uniting Gypsies, Irish Travellers and New Travellers and providing a powerful voice to lobby for positive change and recognition of their human rights. For effective engagement of cross-party support for some of the most socially excluded groups in the UK.

Also shortlisted were:
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities, Impetus, Kurdish Human Rights Project, REDRESS and Statewatch

The Peter Duffy Award for an individual aged 35 or under* - Carolina Gottardo
For tireless and dedicated management of the British Institute of Human Rights' Outreach Programme providing education and training to voluntary and community groups. For advancing human rights and ensuring that they benefit people with mental health problems, disabled people, refugees and disadvantaged older people.

Also shortlisted were:
Henrietta Hill (Doughty Street Chambers) and Caroline Savage (Clifford Chance)

Judges Award - Gareth Pierce and Louise Christian
Civil liberty lawyers acting for detainees interned in Belmarsh prison and Guantanamo Bay were both honoured with the Judges Award for 'outstanding contribution in defending the rule of law'.

*The Peter Duffy Award commemorates the life and achievements of one of the UK's most highly dedicated human rights lawyers, Peter Duffy QC was particularly supportive of younger lawyers and an important part of his human rights work was done pro bono for organisations including JUSTICE and Liberty.

The Human Rights Awards are sponsored by the Law Society, the General Council of the Bar and the Institute of Legal Executives.

JUSTICE and Liberty announce the recipients of the 2003 Human Rights Awards organised in association with the Law Society

After a keynote speech by Jean Corston, MP, the awards were announced on Wednesday 10th December, UN International Human Rights Day, by Sheena McDonald, writer and journalist. The winners were as follows:

The Howard League for Penal Reform
Human Rights Award
For commitment to protecting and promoting the human rights of young offenders; through its Youth Justice Law Project, providing a legal advice and advocacy service, which in 2003 brought several test cases successfully challenging human rights violations of children in prison, the most recent judgment in November 2003 confirming that children in prison have a right to protection under the Children Act 1989

Also shortlisted were:
Inquest, The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and Peter Hill (a former BBC journalist and tireless campaigner on miscarriages of justice)

The judging panel also publicly commended the Rights for All Project, which works with people with learning difficulties throughout the UK, to ensure that their rights under the Human Rights Act are not violated

Beatrice Mtetwa, Kantor & Immerman (Harare)
Human Rights Lawyer of the Year
For acting for clients arrested by the Mugabe government in Zimbabwe, or those wishing to pursue a case against it; challenging the unlawful deportation of the Guardian Newspaper journalist, Andrew Meldrum; for her courage and commitment to human rights whilst working in an environment hostile to lawyers and the rule of law and her disregard of the risks to her personal safety

Also shortlisted were:
Louise Christian (Christian Khan) and Jerry Clore (Clore and Co)

Mark Daly, journalist
The Peter Duffy Award for an individual aged 30 or under
For extraordinary undercover journalism which publicly exposed the racism of trainee police officers and within the police service generally through his documentary The Secret Policeman, which resulted in the launch of a full-scale enquiry into all police services by the Commission for Racial Equality

Also shortlisted were:
Henrietta Hill (Doughty Street Chambers) and Pascale Noel (Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group)

The award winners were chosen by a panel of nine judges: Diane Burleigh (Institute of Legal Executives), Shami Chakrabarti (Liberty), The Honourable Lady Justice Hale (Court of Appeal), Matthias Kelly QC (General Council of the Bar), Trevor Phillips (The Commission for Racial Equality), Roger Smith (JUSTICE), Peter Williamson (the Law Society), Reita Clarke (Law Centres Federation) and Lord Woolf QC (Lord Chief Justice)

JUSTICE and Liberty are grateful to the Law Society, the General Council of the Bar and the Institute of Legal Executives for their financial support for these Awards.

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JUSTICE and Liberty announce the recipients of the 2002 Human Rights Awards organised in association with the Law Society Gazette.

Last year's awards were presented on Tuesday 10th December 2002, UN International Human Rights Day by Baroness Helena Kennedy. The winners were as follows:

Richard Meeran, Leigh Day & Co.
Human Rights Lawyer of the Year
For his commitment to protection of workers' rights to decent working conditions and a safe environment, through ensuring access to justice for workers injured by UK multinational corporations abroad. This year alone his work has ensured that 7,500 South African miners receive compensation for suffering sustained while working for Cape. UK multinationals can now be held to account for injuries to workers and damage to the environment in developing countries.

Also shortlisted were:
Stephen Grosz (Bindman & Partners), Les Allamby (Law Centre, N. Ireland), Adrienne Page QC (5 Raymond Buildings), Adam Speke (5 Raymond Buildings) and Richard Osborne (S J Cornish)

Monira Hussain, Inesons Solicitors
The Peter Duffy Award for Young Human Rights Lawyer of the Year
For outstanding personal and professional commitment to helping secure basic rights for Asian women, asylum seekers and young offenders. She has done extensive community and legal work and, through lobbying in Bangladesh, has highlighted the rights of women prisoners and those prevented from joining their families in the UK. She has worked to bring about positive change in the community since she was 15 - setting up an organisation for Asian women, working as a human rights and immigration adviser and now working as a trainee solicitor.

Also shortlisted were:
Jonathan Peddie (Clifford Chance), Natalia Garcia (Tyndallwoods) and Paul Troop.

Dr Stephen Whittle, Press for Change
The Human Rights Award
For commitment and dedication to ensuring the advancement of rights for transsexual people in the UK, Europe and around the world through judicial means, most recently in the Court of Appeal Case of A v The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police. An academic at Manchester Metropolitan University, he co-founded Press for Change in 1992.

Also shortlisted were:
Public Concern at Work, Howard League for Penal Reform and The 1990 Trust.

The judging panel also presented two special awards for particularly outstanding nominations;

The Honourable Mrs Justice Cox QC
Lifetime Achievement Award
The award recognises her commitment to the protection of equality and human rights - in particular her achievements in securing rights for transsexual people, notably through the case of Goodwin & I v UK at the European Court of Human Rights this year. In October 2002, Laura Cox QC became only the seventh female High Court judge.

Christopher Digby-Bell
The Judges' Award
A special Judges' Award was presented to Christopher Digby-Bell, the honorary legal adviser to the Down's Syndrome Association, for his innovative and unique project teaching children with learning difficulties about the law, justice and their rights.

Award winners are chosen by a panel of judges including leading legal figures such as Lord Woolf QC (Lord Chief Justice), The Honourable Lady Justice Hale (Court of Appeal) and Sir Nicolas Bratza QC (Judge, European Court of Human Rights).

We are grateful to The Law Society Gazette, General Council of the Bar and ILEX for their financial support for these Awards.

See below for the winners of the 2001 Human Rights Awards.

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The Liberty/JUSTICE Human Rights Awards 2001

Every year we present awards to individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to human rights under the law

The Liberty/JUSTICE Human Rights Awards 2001 were presented to a packed audience in the Law Society's Hall on Monday, 10 December - UN International Human Rights Day. The three Awards went to:

Nuala Mole, Director of the AIRE Centre
Presented with the Award for Human Rights Lawyer of the Year
for her dedicated leadership of the AIRE Centre, for her outstanding work in the groundbreaking case of TP and KM v United Kingdom, and for her commitment to the development and delivery of judicial training in the Balkans

Also shortlisted were Richard Meeran, Solicitor at Leigh Day & Co., and Barbara Cohen, Senior Legal Adviser at the Commission for Racial Equality.

Christian Tuddenham, Trainee Solicitor, Lovells
Presented with the Peter Duffy Award for Young Human Rights Lawyer of the Year
for his outstanding pro bono work in highlighting the civil, political and human rights violations of prisoners abroad and his instrumental role in the changing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's policy regarding support for clemency pleas of Britons imprisoned overseas.

Also shortlisted were Henrietta Hill, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, and Nicola Rogers, Assistant Director of the AIRE Centre.

Bail for Immigration Detainees
Presented with the Human Rights Award
for providing a free bail service for detained asylum seekers and migrants, for increasing awareness of the lack of human rights protection for these individuals, and for their commitment to campaigning to ensure effective judicial oversight of detention, all carried out by dedicated unpaid volunteers.

Also shortlisted were Rights for Women and the Travellers' Advice Team at the Community Law Centre in Birmingham.

The judges also presented a special Lifetime Achievement Award to Barbara Cohen, Senior Legal Adviser at the Commission for Racial Equality
for her tireless commitment to racial justice and equality, as demonstrated by her important contributions to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, and for her extensive and dedicated public advocacy and training in the field of anti-discrimination law, over many years.

Our thanks go to all those who took the time to submit nominations for their peers and colleagues and to the panel of judges who sifted through some outstanding nominations. We are also grateful to the Law Society Gazette, the General Council of the Bar and the Institute for Legal Executives for their sponsorship of the Awards.

Previous winners

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