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Commonwealth calls for

judicial accountability

KUALA LUMPUR : The Commonwealth Law Ministers conference opened on Monday with calls for accountability on the part of the judiciary underlined by the absence of Nigeria, under fire over its human rights record.

"There is nothing more tragic than just laws being administered unjustly," Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in an address to Commonwealth members, grouping Britain and its former colonies.

South Africa is attending its first Commonwealth Law Ministers conference since its readmission with the end of apartheid. Mozambique and Cameroon are making their first appearance at the six-day conference.

Nigeria is a notable absentee following its suspension from the Commonwealth in November over its execution of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists.

"They were not invited," an official at the Commonwealth Secretariat said. Last Friday a United Nations team described human rights in Nigeria as "terrible" after a 16-day mission.

Anwar said laws must be administered justly without regard for a person's wealth or standing in society.

"Our courts of law must at the same time be courts of justice," Anwar said. "Their judgments must conform not only to strict legal requirements but also to the dictates of fairness and equity."

Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku told the conference that the evolution of the Commonwealth "from empire to voluntary association of sovereign independent states has been facilitated by its legal and administrative culture".

He called on the ministers to build upon that unique common law tradition.

Anyaoku said the conference would seek ways to strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

Conference Chairman Abang Abu Bakar, Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said public demands for accountability on the part of judges were increasing.

"They are no longer considered to belong to a sacrosanct and inviolable fraternity," he said. "There have been suggestions, even from among themselves, that mechanisms be put into place to investigate complaints against them."

About 150 law ministers and legal officials from 39 of the 53 Commonwealth members are attending the conference, held every three years.

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs K. Srinivasan told reporters the ministers would discuss matters of mutual cooperation such as extradition and the tracking down of suspected criminals who have fled from one member to another.

He said they would also discuss transferring foreigners convicted of crimes in one Commonwealth country back to their home countries to serve their sentences.

Money laundering, intellectual property rights and commercial law in an increasingly globalised economy are other topics on the agenda.

The meeting would also discuss the possibility of returning cultural artifacts that have been smuggled out of one Commonwealth country and taken to another.

Violence against women in Commonwealth countries would also be discussed, he said.-Reuter