IBAHRI open letter to bar associations in Asia on the KL Guidelines

Open letter to local, regional and national bar associations in Asia from the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute

Distinguished colleagues,

We are writing on behalf of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)¹ – an autonomous body of the International Bar Association that works with the global legal community to promote and protect human rights and the independence of the legal profession worldwide – to bring to your attention the Regional Guidelines for Lawyers Representing Individuals Facing the Death Penalty and Execution in Asia (the KL Guidelines).

The KL Guidelines are intended to complement, not supplant, existing professional rules and ethical obligations governing legal practice within domestic jurisdictions.

Recognising the urgent need to strengthen legal representation in death penalty cases and to reinforce broader fair trial protections, the KL Guidelines have resulted from a collaboration between lawyers and civil society organisations across Asia in response to systemic violations in capital cases in the region. This initiative was led by and for Asian legal practitioners, recognising the unique institutional, procedural and resource-related constraints that define capital litigation in Asia.

The Guidelines offer a regionally grounded framework to support defence lawyers in navigating the complexities of capital cases. In doing so, they reinforce the role of legal practitioners in upholding due process, ensuring professional ethics and advancing fair trial standards in death penalty cases across Asia.

The KL Guidelines also refer to bar associations and legal professional bodies at several points though they are primarily intended for lawyers who represent individuals facing the death penalty:

• Bar councils and legal professional bodies have a responsibility to ensure that capital defence lawyers receive adequate training, resources and institutional support to strengthen their capabilities and safeguard their mental health.
• Bar councils or legal professional bodies should take proactive steps to guarantee that lawyers have full and timely access to their clients at all times, particularly during pre-trial detention.
• Bar associations can draw on the KL Guidelines to support discussion of structural challenges and long-standing procedural concerns around capital cases.

The introductory webinar is to include discussion on how bar associations and professional bodies can engage with, and practically draw on, the Guidelines in training, support and policy contexts.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Stephens CBE
Co-Chair, IBAHRI and former President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association

Hina Jilani
Co-Chair, IBAHRI and former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

¹The International Bar Association, established in 1947, is the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. It has a membership of over 80,000 individual lawyers, and 190 bar associations and law societies, spanning over 160 countries. The IBAHRI, an autonomous entity, works with the global legal community to promote and protect human rights and the independence of the legal profession worldwide.