Language: English
Following three years of comprehensive research and worldwide consultations carried out against a worrying backdrop of judicial capture and polarisation in many countries, IFIT is honoured to announce the launch of the Constitution Hill Global Guidelines on Apex Court Appointments (in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Portuguese).
Overview:
There are many important national, regional and international principles and guidelines on the selection and appointment of judges. What has been missing is a set of baseline principles tailored to the unique role and characteristics of Apex Courts and customisable to the unique conditions of diverse country and/or regional contexts.
To fill the gap, IFIT – in partnership with Constitutional Transitions and a High-Level Advisory Panel composed of distinguished judges and jurists from a wide spectrum of legal systems – established the Initiative on Apex Court Appointments in 2021. The Constitution Hill Global Guidelines on Apex Court Appointments mark the final outcome and will be the subject of a global dissemination, engagement and uptake process starting this fall.
About the Guidelines:
The Guidelines are entirely original but draw from a range of key sources including: (i) a detailed IFIT study of existing global and regional principles on judicial appointments and judicial independence; (ii) a comprehensive survey of national standards; (iii) in-depth interviews conducted with the initiative’s High-Level Panel members and with additional judges and jurists globally; and (iv) early work in the Southern African region from whence the project originated with the support of IFIT’s Zimbabwe Resource Group.
Starting in July 2023, a first draft of the Guidelines was the centrepiece of an expert consultation and feedback process with 100+ leading global and regional legal and judicial institutions, associations and networks. In early 2024, an updated version of the Guidelines passed through a second phase of global consultation and feedback, culminating in a high-level judicial and legal summit held at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, South Africa in May 2024.
Read the Guidelines here.
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There are many important national, regional and international principles and guidelines on the selection and appointment of judges. What has been missing is a set of baseline principles tailored to the unique role and characteristics of Apex Courts and customisable to the unique conditions of diverse country and/or regional contexts.
To fill the gap, IFIT – in partnership with Constitutional Transitions and a High-Level Advisory Panel composed of distinguished judges and jurists from a wide spectrum of legal systems – established the Initiative on Apex Court Appointments in 2021. The Constitution Hill Global Guidelines on Apex Court Appointments mark the final outcome.
The Guidelines are entirely original but draw from a range of key sources including: (i) a detailed IFIT study of existing global and regional principles on judicial appointments and judicial independence; (ii) a comprehensive survey of national standards; (iii) in-depth interviews conducted with the initiative’s High-Level Panel members and with additional judges and jurists globally; and (iv) early work in the Southern African region from whence the project originated with the support of IFIT’s Zimbabwe Resource Group.
Starting in July 2023, a first draft of the Guidelines was the centrepiece of an expert consultation and feedback process with 100+ leading global and regional legal and judicial institutions, associations and networks. In early 2024, an updated version of the Guidelines passed through a second phase of global consultation and feedback, culminating in a high-level judicial and legal summit held at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, South Africa in May 2024.
The DOI registration ID for this publication is: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13754328
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Daniel is a Research Associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), where he coordinates the National Brain Trust (FCH) in Colombia and works on the Global Initiative on Polarization and on IFIT’s narratives work.
Prior to joining IFIT, Daniel served as a Conflict Strategist on the team of the negotiation expert William Ury, where he supported international diplomacy and mediation efforts in Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Colombia, and Venezuela. He was also part of the Colombian Presidential Communications Office during the 2016 peace process; advisor to the former Colombian Vice President and chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, during his 2018 presidential campaign; and researcher at the Ideas for Peace Foundation and Los Andes University, where he worked on business and peace.
Daniel is a political scientist and a certified mediator in New York, with Master’s degrees in Peacebuilding from Los Andes University and in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University. He is a professor of International Conflict Resolution at the Externado University of Colombia.
Working languages: English and Spanish.
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“Horizontal peacebuilding” is a new concept pioneered by IFIT’s Territorial Trust in Colombia.
Prevailing concepts of locally-led peacebuilding focus on vertical relationships between elites and communities – or more generally, between a “centre” and a “periphery”.
The approach is understandable but overlooks a critical horizontal level of peacebuilding in which 1) trans-local and inter-territorial relationships and collaborations are prioritised, and 2) the role of “go-between” or mid-level peacebuilders is central.
The DOI registration ID for this publication is: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13741268
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Camilo Torres Casanova is a Research Officer at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and is based in Bogotá. His areas of interest include international security, human rights advocacy, peacekeeping, armed conflict, democracy and authoritarianism.
Prior to joining IFIT, Camilo worked in human rights advocacy in the Americas at Human Rights Watch, security sector reform in Africa and the Americas at the UN Department of Peace Operations, and transatlantic security and diplomacy at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Camilo also worked on projects related to the implementation of the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement, victims’ rights and transitional justice in Colombia and Latin America.
Camilo has a BA in Law with a minor in International Studies from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). He also holds a Master in International Security with a concentration in Europe & Russia from the Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po Paris), and a Master of Laws in National Security with a concentration in International Human Rights from Georgetown University (Washington D.C.).
Working languages: English, Spanish, French and Italian.
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María José Rodríguez González is an Intern at the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), working with our project in Mexico.
María José is currently finishing her bachelor’s degree in International Relations at El Colegio de México, writing her thesis on the oppression faced by Afghan refugee women during their asylum application process. She is also a student associate at the Mexican Council of International Affairs (Comexi).
Her areas of interest are international peace and security, migration, construction of identities and nationalism, and political philosophy.
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Elections and Narratives: Ways of Containing Polarisation
In this 40-minute video, Research Associate Jasmina Brankovic leads a discussion on the links between narratives and polarisation during election periods, hosted by IFIT’s Narrative Peacebuilding Hub. Jasmina is joined by two members of IFIT’s Inclusive Narratives Practice Group, Thinking and Working Politically Community of Practice Director Alina Rocha Menocal and George Mason University Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution Solon Simmons, as well as Electoral Institute of the State of Mexico President and IFIT Mexico Peacebuilding Support Group member Amalia Pulido Gómez.
Reflecting on the range of significant elections occurring in 2024, particularly in Latin America and Europe, Alina notes that narratives have increasingly been used to contribute to divisive identity politics in election periods. Political actors tactically draw on demographically linked grievances to galvanise support, thereby feeding and escalating polarisation, fragmentation and anger. Alina stresses the role of leadership in fostering a feeling of unity and encouraging conversation across divides, while acknowledging how grievances are mobilised and manipulated. She proposes ways of finding common ground to address the needs of different social groups.
Focusing on the case of Mexico and Latin America more broadly, Amalia brings attention to the growing lack of trust in electoral bodies and the negative consequences for democracy. Narratives around elections being a facade have the power to sway public opinion and nourish polarisation. Amalia raises awareness around gender-based violence in politics in particular. She advises investing in candidates maintaining integrity and encouraging authorities to intervene when a candidate’s behaviour incites violence. She recommends practical strategies for increasing election-related regulation.
Drawing on narrative theory, Solon highlights the fundamental tension in narrative techniques used to win elections: while elections can be a tool of peace in the transfer of power, they can also increase polarisation around identity and cultural issues. Using examples from the United States, he argues that narratives about identity politics often serve to obscure inequality and demonise demands for basic economic needs, such as housing, education, health and transportation. Solon shares approaches for ensuring a shift from the usual ‘black-and-white’ narratives used during elections to narratives with greater moral complexity.
Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia is the Chairman of Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission: a unique statutory body and institution to promote national identity and values; mitigate ethno-political competition and ethnically-motivated violence; eliminate discrimination on an ethnic, racial and religious basis; and promote national reconciliation and healing.
Previously, he served as Senior Advisor on Cohesion, Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Executive Office of the President and Cabinet Affairs of Kenya. From 2007-2018, he was Chancellor of St. Paul’s University. From 2011-2015, Dr. Kobia also served as a Commissioner in the Judicial Service Commission, which recruits Kenyan judges and oversees the judiciary. In addition, from 2010-2012, he served as Ecumenical Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He also served from 2004-2009 as General Secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, having been the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya at an earlier stage in his career.
Dr. Kobia holds a Master degree in Urban Planning from MIT, a doctorate in International Relations from Geneva School of Diplomacy, and a doctorate in Theology from the Christian Theological Seminary. He is a visiting Professor to Wesley Colleges in USA and UK. He has previously held a fellowship at Harvard Divinity School and a visiting professorship at Cambridge University. He is the author of several books, including Dialogue Matters.
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