V World Forum of Judges to be launched in Belém
Brasil will host the event for the fourth time
The World Forum of Judges (WFJ) is a movement that began with legal workshops held during the I World Social Forum. Several law agents were gathered in the offices of Amatra-RS and Ajuris in January 2001. The most important characteristic of the Forum is that it is promoted all all national magistrates associations and by those from all such entities in the region.
The WFJ has been held four times. Three in Porto Alegre in 2002, 2003 and 2005, and once in Buenos Aires in 2004. Going beyond the confines of Latin America, the WFJ held a workshop in Mumbai, India, when the World Social Forum was held there. Caracas Venezuela was also the venue of Forum workshops.
Forum attracts major names in the legal profession
Since the very first meeting, the WFJ has been honored to have major names in the legal world from around the world as participants, including P. Bawhghatti, former chief justice of the Indian Supreme Court; Mary Robinson, from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights; Spanish judge Baltazar Garzón; and Argentine judge Rodolfo Capón Fillas.
In 2003, highlighted speakers were: Portuguese sociologist Boaventura Santos, Mireille Delmas-Marty from France, former member of the European Court on Human Rights.
In 2004 in Buenos Aires, speakers included: Raúl Zaffaroni and Leandro Despouys, from Argentina; Franco Ippolito, from Italy, member of the Democratic Magistrature of Italy.
Present at the IV WFJ in 2005 in Porto Alegre-RS were Spanish Supreme Court judge and vice-chairman of the National Council for Justice Fernando Salinas; French journalist Ignacio Ramonet, member of the international council of the World Social Forum, Taiwanese judge Yang-Fu-Chiang, Italian Gherardo Colombo, member of 'Operation Clean Hands', and other renowned participants.
