High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom - Who we are
Who we are
The High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom is an independent body that was convened in July 2019 at the request of the UK and Canadian governments. The High Level Panel comprises a diverse group of leading lawyers from around the world.
What we do
The remit of the High Level Panel is to provide advice and recommendations to governments to prevent and reverse abuses of media freedom. The High Level Panel will propose initiatives that can be taken by governments to ensure existing international obligations relating to media freedom are upheld, disseminate elements for model legislation to promote and protect a vibrant free press, and report on means of raising the cost to those who target journalists for their work.
Chair and Deputy Chairs
The Chair of the High Level Panel is Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury and his Deputy Chairs are Catherine Amirfar and Can Yeginsu.
Members of the Panel
Advisory Council
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute Secretariat
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) serves as the Secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom. The IBAHRI Secretariat provides operational, legal, technical assistance, facilitating the Panel’s advisory role and advocacy actions to strengthen protection of media freedom and journalists’ access to legal assistance.
Consultative Committee: Civil Society
Name | Position & organisation | Region | Biography |
David Kaye | Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine, School of Law and Former UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression (August 2014 - July 2020) | Global | Biography |
Harlem Désir | Former Representative on Freedom of the Media, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (2017-2020) | Europe | Biography |
Matjaz Gruden | Director of Democratic Participation, Council of Europe | Europe | Biography |
Patrick Penninckx | Head of Department - Information Society, Council of Europe | Europe | Biography |
Antoine Bernard | Senior Advisor for International Strategic Litigation, RSF | Global | Biography |
Rebecca Vincent | Director of International Campaigns, RSF | Global | Biography |
Jodie Ginsberg | Chief Executive, Index on Censorship until February 2020. Chief Executive, Internews Europe from March 2020 | Global | Biography |
Joel Simon | Executive Director, CPJ | Global | Biography |
Courtney Radsch | Advocacy Director, CPJ | Global | Biography |
Jameel Jaffer | Executive Director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University | US | Biography |
Ben Wizner | American Civil Liberties Union | US | Biography |
Clive Baldwin | Senior Legal Adviser, HRW | Global | Biography |
Sir Michael Tugendhat QC | Former English High Court judge specialized in media cases | UK | Biography |
Geoffrey Robertson QC | Doughty Street Chambers | UK | Biography |
Alex Bailin QC | Matrix Chambers | UK | Biography |
Advocate Gilbert Marcus SC | Johannesburg Bar | Africa | Biography |
Pansy Tlakula | Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa | South Africa | Biography |
Agnes Callamard | Secretary General. Amnesty International and former UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions (2016-2021) | Global | Biography |
Karen Eltis | Professor, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law | Canada | Biography |
Miguel Maduro | Former Advocate General at the European Court of Justice and now at the European Institute in Florence | Europe | Biography |
Irene Khan | UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression | Global | Biography |
Gypsy Guillén Kaiser | Advocacy and Communications Director, CPJ | Global | Biography |
Professor Evelyn Aswad | Professor of Law, Herman G. Kaiser Chair in International Law, University of Oklahoma | US | Biography |
Damian Tambini | Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communications, LSE | UK | Biography |
Academic and Practice Partners
London
- Kings College London (Lead University)
Paris
- SciencesPo (Lead University)
Belgium
- University of Ghent (Regional University)
Lebanon
- Regional Expert
Moscow
- The Institute for Law and Public Policy (Regional Partner)
New Delhi
- National Law University Delhi (Lead University)
Melbourne
Pretoria
- University of Pretoria (Regional University)
Colombia
- Universidad de los Andes (Regional University)
New York
- Columbia University (Lead University)
Toronto
- University of Toronto (Lead University)