LawyerI G SocialistMagazine of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers Number 50 September 2008 £2.50 Our fiftieth edition Haldane Society PO Box 57055 London EC1P 1AF Website: www.haldane.org Contents Number 50 September 2008 ISSN 09 54 3635 News & comment ................................................................................ 4 Contempt of court, Southall Black Sisters, threat to freedom of speech, Kurdish women 50th issue of Socialist Lawyer..........................12 Michael Mansfield on why a magazine for socialist lawyers is as vital as in 1986 Physical footprint .............................................................................. 13 Former editor Catrin Lewis on the challenge of publishing a regular publication And next year Haldane will be 80............ 14 David Renton on the history of the Haldane Society itself, which goes back to 1929 Vice squad .......................................................................................................... 17 Liz Davies on our three new Vice-Presidents and we speak to Kate Markus A catalogue of failure .............................................................. 22 Deborah Coles, co-director of INQUEST, on the inhuman way we treat women in prison The Haldane Society was founded in 1930. It provides a forum for the discussion and .............................. analysis of law and the legal system, both War crimes: time for justice? 24 nationally and internationally, from a socialist Phil Shiner and Bill Bowring on the possibilities of holding war criminals to account perspective. It holds frequent public meetings and conducts educational programmes. The Haldane Society is independent of any political party. Membership comprises lawyers, academics, students and legal workers as well as trade union and labour movement affiliates. President: Michael Mansfield QC Vice Presidents: Kader Asmal; Louise Christian; Tess Gill; Helena Kennedy QC; Michael Seifert; David Turner- Samuels; Professor Lord Wedderburn QC Chair: Liz Davies ([email protected]) Vice-Chairs: Hannah Rought-Brooks and Kat Craig ([email protected]) Secretary: Marcus Joyce ([email protected]) Socialist Lawyer Editor: Hannah Rought-Brooks ([email protected]) Hossam Picture: el-Hamalawy Treasurer: Declan Owens ([email protected]) Armenia: Censors censured ................................ 27 Membership Secretary: Freedom of expression has received a boost, say Tigran Ter-Yesayan and Kerim Yildiz Dale Brook International Secretary: Bill Bowring International criminal tribunals .................. 30 ([email protected]) Richard Harvey asks: Do they deliver truth? Can they lead to reconciliation? Executive Committee: John Beckley; Adrian Berry; Tom Bradford; Housing law: Possession ping-pong Justine Compton; Richard Harvey; John Hobson; 36 Catrin Lewis; Stephen Marsh; Anna Morris; Liz Davies on the rights of tenants facing mandatory grounds for possession Monika Pirani; David Renton; Paul Smith; Adam Straw; Nick Toms; Camille Warren; Egyptians’ trial chaos.............................................................. 37 Rebekah Wilson and Azam Zia Anne Alexander and Hossam el-Hamalawy report on the aftermath of a city’s uprising Regional contacts: West Midlands: Brian Nott, Flat 3, Reviews...................................................................................................................... 38 64 Prospect Road, Mosley, Birmingham B13 9TD Richard Harvey admires Bill Bowring’s new book on the international legal order while Daniel Machover enjoys Mike Marqusee’s journey to anti-Zionism Manchester: John Hobson ([email protected]) International contact: Bill Bowring Editor: Hannah Rought-Brooks ([email protected]) Assisted by: Liz Davies, Declan Owens and Farah Wise Immigration and asylum contact: Design & Production: Smith+Bell Design ([email protected]) Adrian Berry ([email protected]) Printed by: The Russell Press Many thanks to all our other contributors and members who have helped with this issue 2 I Socialist Lawyer G September 2008 from the chair Recurring issues his issue is the 50th issue of Socialist lawyers. We’re delighted that Imran Khan, Kate Markus Lawyer. It’s an opportunity to take and Gareth Peirce have accepted our invitations to stock of the past, and reflect on the become Vice-Presidents of the Haldane Society. We cel- future. Our President, Mike Mansfield ebrate their achievements in a short biographical piece, QC, is not the only Haldane Society and with a longer interview with Kate Markus. Socialist stalwart to be surprised at how young Lawyer readers will remember the lengthy interview with TSocialist Lawyer is. The first issue was published in Imran Khan published in January 2008. We hope that the winter of 1986, and we’ve managed an aver- Gareth Peirce – one of the busiest and most committed age of around three issues a year since then. Nearly lawyers on the planet – will manage some time from the 22 years on, we may be older, but we’re just as ambi- extraordinary demands of her practice to give tious in our desire to change the world. us an interview for the next issue. Imran, Kate Mansfield notices the similarities between and Gareth join the existing Vice-Presidents: Haldane’s concerns in 1986, and our priorities today. Kader Asmal, Louise Christian, Tess Gill, The challenges are depressingly similar: to defend Helena Kennedy QC, Michael Seifert, David civil liberties, campaign for extended employment Turner-Samuels, Professor Lord Wedderburn rights, maintain publicly funded legal services. The QC. most dismal distinction is that in 1986 those campaigns We’re very proud to be associated with all were against Tory government policies. John Hendy wrote of these distinguished lawyers, each of whom “the labour movement needs a Labour government”. has spent their career fighting against injustice. Twenty-two years on, a Labour government is undertak- Nobody ever joins the Haldane Society in the ing precisely the same attacks. We find ourselves expectation of political or legal advancement. defending civil liberties against a Labour government Membership of a “socialist” society is probably a intent on detention without charge for 42 days, defending hindrance to a career in the Labour Party these law centres and publicly-funded legal services, and still days. In fact, getting involved in the Haldane arguing for basic trade union rights and freedoms. Society offers few rewards and much toil. Catrin Socialist Lawyer may only be 22 years old. Lewis – who was Chair of the Society and edited The Haldane Society is nearly 80. David Renton’s Socialist Lawyer just a few years ago – can say research in the National Archives has produced what our current Editor is far too modest to say: some fascinating documents showing the degree “members of the Society give up their own free time to of state concern about Communist influence on write for the magazine, or to put the magazine together, the Haldane Society during the Labour govern- get it to the printers and to distribute it. From my own ment of 1945 to 1951. Intriguingly, an internal experience I know this can be a real challenge. Getting Labour Party circular cautioning against “Soviet the magazine out regularly is a real achievement.” propaganda” in the Society finds its way into Home We’re immensely grateful to all of our contributors for Office records. The Labour Party’s obsession with the time they put into their articles. We want more con- exposing suspected communist influence in its var- tributors – so that we can broaden the scope of our ious affiliates led to the greatest crisis of the Haldane coverage. If you fancy writing something on a law- Society’s history, and the break-away of some lead- related issue, don’t be shy. Just volunteer. ing members to form the Society of Labour Lawyers. We’re also immensely grateful to our current Today, we have friendly relations with the Society of Editor and Vice-Chair of the Society, Hannah Labour Lawyers, but, unlike them, we are indepen- Rought-Brooks, for the work that she has put in dent of the Labour Party (and of any other political over the last two years. She’s leaving us tem- party). We cherish that independence. We may never be porarily to work in Palestine. We wish her the best invited by the government to set out a programme of of luck and salute her commitment to Palestinian law reform, as the Society was in 1947. But then, as solidarity. The current high standard of articles in David Renton notes, the Labour Party refused to publish Socialist Lawyer is a tribute to just how seriously the proposals submitted by the Society. Hannah took the editorship, from planning ahead, Nowadays, our members may be members of vari- to commissioning, cajoling, and keeping a very ous political parties, or of none. But as a Society, we are politically astute eye on everything. We will miss independent of all parties. We can stand up for social- her, and we hope for regular reports from ism and remain plain speaking. Palestine. Reflecting on 50 issues of Socialist Lawyer, we take G Liz Davies, chair of the Haldane Society the opportunity to honour some human socialist of Socialist Lawyers [email protected] Socialist Lawyer G September 2008 I 3 News&Comment Aamer Anwar wins contempt tif Siddique was These were the words of more widely on issues of injustice. today found guilty Aamer Anwar, one of Scotland’s Support was given to Mr Anwar of doing what mil- leading civil rights lawyers, on by a host of lawyers including