Human Rights

As defined by its constitution, one the objects of the ECBA is to promote the administration of justice and human rights under the rule of law within the member states of the Council of Europe and among the peoples of the world. Throughout the years the ECBA has been following Criminal Proceedings’ Human Rights’ issues.

If you know of any issue that should be brought to our attention, please do not hesitate to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The increasing involvement of the ECBA in advocacy for Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings has led the ECBA to appoint a Human Rights Officer (HRO). The Human Rights Officer (HRO) will be the contact person for Human Rights’ issues, including possible interventions by the ECBA before the ECtHR, and will represent the ECBA in activities such as trial observations.

The first ECBA-HRO was the Advisory Board Member Scott Crosby. Scott was a long time member of the ECBA and had a wide experience in taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights. As Scott Crosby sadly passed away on 25 April 2020, Alexis Anagnostakis has been appointed by the Executive Committee of the ECBA as the actual HR Officer on 21 September 2020.

Given that the demands of human rights law for the work of the ECBA were steadily increasing and could not be adequately met by the Human Rights Officer alone the Executive and Advisory boards of the ECBA decided at the meeting of 21 April 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic, to establish a human rights committee.

The Human Rights Committee (HRC) comprise the undernoted persons:

Amedeo Barletta	Ondrej Laciak
Stephen Bailey	Salomé Lemasson
Cristiana Bianco	Irene Lepre
Elena Borsacchi	Mihai Mares
Nicola Canestrini	Ales Michalevic
Federico Cappelletti	Jonathan Mitchell
Vânia Costa Ramos	Rebecca Niblock
Walter De Agostino	Patrick Ormerod
William Glover	Szabolcs Miklós Sánta
Robin Grey	Sylvain Savolainen
Maria Hessen Jacobsen	Tobias Stadarfeld Jensen
Nancy Hollander	Alex Tinsley
Nina Karačić Brković

The ECBA “Scott Crosby” Human Rights Award

The ECBA and their Human Rights Committee have decided to institutionalize the ECBA Human Rights Award, named after our late friend and passionate human rights activist Scott Crosby, to be awarded once a year to distinguished lawyers who have demonstrated outstanding commitment and sacrifice to uphold fundamental values.

The objective of the ECBA is to honour the efforts of lawyers and at the same time raise awareness of the core values of the legal profession.

The 2024 ECBA HR Award went to three Belarus lawyers who endure the harsh conditions of Belarusian prisons, having been arrested and sentenced to 6-10 years in prison, with no phone calls, correspondence or visits. Vitaly Brahinets, Aliaksandr Danilevich, and Maxim Znak are suffering today because of their unwavering dedication to justice, democracy, and human rights.

Vitaly Brahinets, a seasoned criminal lawyer, is recognized for his support of human rights. By choosing to represent those targeted by political oppression, he has faced imprisonment on charges that are widely acknowledged as politically motivated. Aliaksandr Danilevich has shown remarkable bravery amid the political crisis in Belarus. He openly denounced the war in Ukraine while providing legal assistance to those repressed by the government. The result was the same: arrested and detained. Maxim Znak has also played a vital role in providing legal support to opposition figures. His relentless pursuit of justice and democracy resulted in his arrest, making him a symbol of the struggle for human rights and the rule of law.

The Award was handed to Iryna Kozikava, sister of Maxim Znak and a lawyer herself, who seeked refuge in Poland.

The 2023 ECBA HR Award went to two remarkable women - Françoise Tulkens, a distinguished Belgian lawyer and a respected expert in criminal law, former Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights and Nancy Hollander, a renowned U.S. criminal defense lawyer, known for her fearless representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees and the prominent whistleblower, Chelsea Manning. The award ceremony took place at the Spring Conference 2024 in Brussels, in the presence of Scott Crosby's daughter and son, Francesca and Andrew, who handed the awards themselves.

The ECBA Scott Crosby Human Rights Award 2022, handed by Vincent Asselineau, ECBA Chair, and Alexis Anagnostakis, HR Officer, went to the Ukrainian National Bar Association, represented at the Autumn Conference by Dr. Valentyn Gvozdiy, Vice President of the UNBA and ECBA member. The award honours the efforts of the Ukrainian lawyers for their determination and sacrifice in times of war, to uphold fundamental values and the rule of law in their country during the current impermissible military aggression against Ukraine.

The receivers of the ECBA Human Rights Award 2021 were Judge Igor Tuleya and the Dean of the Warsaw Bar Association, lawyer Mikołaj Pietrzak, both from Poland.

HR Officer Alexis Anagnostakis, ECBA Chair Vincent Asselineau and Polish lawyer Mikołaj Pietrzak

Every year on January 24th, the international legal community commemorates the Day of the Endangered Lawyer to raise awareness about the threats faced by legal professionals worldwide.

For the 16th edition in 2026, following a proposal by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), an international coalition of 53 lawyers’ groups has designated the United States of America as the focus country.

Why the United States? The decision to focus on the US stems from a documented and escalating pattern of interference with the independence of the justice system.

According to the 2026 Coalition Report, key areas of concern include:

Executive Interference: The targeting of law firms through executive orders that suspend security clearances and government contracts.
Judicial Harassment: Public attacks and intimidation of judges and prosecutors who have handled cases involving the administration.
International Pressure: The imposition of sanctions against judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Professional Risks: Surveillance, threats, and harassment of lawyers for carrying out their professional duties.

As ECBA Chair Vânia Costa Ramos noted in a recent Financial Times feature, “The fact that this is happening in a country that is democratic...shows that backsliding on the rule of law can happen anywhere”.
Another feature was published by The Guardian.

The ECBA invites all members and partners to:

Read the 2026 Report: Detailed findings on the patterns of interference with the legal profession in the US.
Read the Statement and Petition: Collective demand for the US authorities to respect international law and standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

Following months of intense advocacy and international pressure, the President and 10 executive board members of the Instabul Bar Association were acquitted on January 8, 2026.

The ECBA, standing alongside 37 human rights and lawyers’ organizations, had condemned in a formal joint statement the "terrorist propaganda" charges as a clear misuse of criminal law aimed at silencing the Bar’s human rights monitoring.

This ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that bar associations must be free to speak on matters of justice and human rights without fear of judicial harassment.

The ECBA remains committed to defending the independence of our colleagues across Europe and beyond.

Read the joint statement here.