Former Pakistan Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and International Court of Justice President Abdulqawi A. Yusuf Make Historic Remarks at the Ceremony for Presentation of the International Justice Excellence Award

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Two historic public speeches were given at the Peace Palace on March 28, 2019 at the International Institute for Justice Excellence Justice Award presentation ceremony for Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani of Pakistan.

Opening remarks at the celebration were made by the Honorable Abdulqawi A. Yusuf, President of the International Court of Justice. He noted, in part, the following:

"It is a great pleasure for me to participate in this tribute to an eminent jurist whose devotion and dedication to justice has gone far beyond the boundaries of his own country, and of his region, to be celebrated in the United States a few years ago, and today here in the Hague, in front of the Great Hall of Justice."

Justice Jillani accepted the award not only for himself, but,"on behalf of all those seeking justice." He also noted, in part, the problem of enforcing rights when religion claims a monopoly on truth, the importance of making school curriculum more inclusive and the need to ban hate speech on social media and in the media. He also referred to the role of the judiciary in society:

            "In a democracy, besides resolving disputes between citizens, the judiciary has two major functions to perform:

I.          To keep the three organs of the State within the parameters of their powers, as spelt out in law and in the constitution.

II.         To enforce the rule of law and fundamental rights in socio-political culture marked by ethnic, racial, religious or sectarian polarization."

President Yusuf's full speech: https://vimeo.com/330655818

Justice Jillani's full speech: https://vimeo.com/330689310

The IIJE is a non-political, non-profit, international institution dedicated to developing a collaborative approach to improving, globally, the administration of justice more uniformly and efficiently by promoting and providing research, education and the dissemination of international best practices and procedure relating to the field of access to justice.

The International Justice Excellence Award is made annually to someone who has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of skill, commitment and professionalism in the fulfilment of his or her public duties, positively and significantly contributing to justice excellence. Previous awardees included the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and The Rt Hon. the Lord Woolf.

For further information, the media and interested parties may contact:

IIJE Public Relations - Gary Wente: 1-312-278-3170
[email protected]
Web:    http://www.iije.nl

SOURCE International Institute for Justice Excellence