Joint statement of national and international legal professional associations on United States actions against lawyers
19 March 2025
On 18 March 2025, the Law Council signed a joint statement of national and international legal professional associations expressing dismay at the recent actions by the United States government targeting legal professionals at both the international and domestic levels.
The statement denounced the executive order issued on 6 February 2025 imposing sanctions on ICC personnel and their immediate family members, and expressed grave concern regarding other developments in the US which threaten the independence of the legal profession.
The signatories also defended the role of the American Bar Association as a non-partisan organisation committed to advancing the rule of law across the United States and globally.
The statement was signed by the following national and international legal professional associations:
- Law Society of England and Wales
- Law Society of Northern Ireland
- The Bar Council of Northern Ireland
- Faculty of Advocates
- Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer / The German Federal Bar
- Deutscher Anwaltverein / German Bar Association
- Law Council of Australia
- Ordre des Avocats de Paris / Paris Bar
- Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane / Union of the Italian Criminal Chambers (UCPI)
- LAWASIA
- Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA)
- European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA)
- Fédération des Barreaux des d’Europe (FBE)
- Institute for the Rule of Law of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA-IROL)
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
- International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD)
- Lawyers for Lawyers
- Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
Read the full statement here.
Last Updated on 24/03/2025