The Committee for Justice is co-organizing a side event titled “Judicial Independence Under Pressure: North Africa in Continental Perspective,” organized by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) on the margins of the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul, The Gambia.
The side event will take place on Monday, 11 May 2026, from 13:30 to 15:00, at News Release Hall 3, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, with simultaneous interpretation in English and French.
The discussion will examine growing pressures on judicial independence across Africa, with a particular focus on North Africa, where recent legal and institutional developments in Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, and Tunisia have raised serious concerns regarding the independence of courts, the protection of lawyers, and the autonomy of bar associations.
The event will also address threats facing lawyers and legal professionals, including gender-specific risks, and will explore how the African Commission can strengthen its response to attacks on judicial independence, the legal profession, and the broader rule of law framework.
CFJ will be represented by Usame Mehmetoglu, Regional Officer at the Committee for Justice, who will contribute to the discussion by highlighting concerns related to judicial independence, the right to defence, and violations affecting lawyers and prisoners of conscience in North Africa.
The panel will be moderated by Mr. François J. Godbout, Director of Programmes at PALU. Speakers include Hon. Commissioner Salma Sassi, Country Rapporteur for Tunisia at the African Commission; Mr. Montassar Salem, Director of Democracy and Rule of Law at Intersection for Rights and Freedoms; Ms. Bochra Belhaj Hmida, lawyer and activist; Mr. Zakaria Benlahrech, lawyer and Director of the Foundation for the Promotion of Human Rights; and a representative from Mauritania.
Through its co-organization of the event, CFJ reaffirms the importance of protecting judicial independence as a cornerstone of the rule of law, fair trial guarantees, and access to justice. CFJ further stresses that attacks on lawyers, interference in judicial proceedings, and the use of judicial institutions to restrict civic space must be addressed as structural concerns requiring regional and international attention.
Event Details
Title: Judicial Independence Under Pressure: North Africa in Continental Perspective
Date: Monday, 11 May 2026
Time: 13:30–15:00
Venue: News Release Hall 3, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, Banjul
Languages: English and French, with simultaneous interpretation
