Publication of Chinese Manual on Representing Individuals Facing Death Penalty
On the occasion of Cities for Life Day on November 30, 2013, the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty are proud to announce the online publication of the Chinese version of Representing Individuals Facing the Death Penalty: A Best Practices Manual. This publication is intended for lawyers who defend people facing the death penalty around the world.
This guide was made possible through cooperation between Death Penalty Worldwide, a website managed by Sandra Babcock, Professor at the Center for International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law; the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty; and lawyers from around 15 countries including Taiwan and China. The traditional Chinese version follows the publication of the English and French editions last May. It was revised by TAEDP, lawyers Weng Guoyan, Li Ailun, Chen Youning and Professor Jin Menghua. This version is now available for download by defence lawyers working on capital cases. (A simplified Chinese version will soon follow after revisions by lawyer Teng Biao of China Against the Death Penalty.) You can download the guide here: https://deathpenaltyworldwide.org/pdf/death-penalty-manual-chinese.pdf
In a statement welcoming the publication of the Chinese version, Prof Babcock said: “Taiwanese and Chinese lawyers are facing enormous difficulties when they defend people facing the death penalty. Those cases are a lot thornier than the average criminal case. I hope this manual will be useful to them and will help them advocate more efficiently for their clients’ rights to a fair trial, from the time of their arrest to their final appeal.”
TAEDP, the Legal Aid Foundation and the Human Rights Commission of the Taipei Bar Association are planning a series of workshops in the New Year to teach lawyers how to best use the guide. The three organizations are also planning to adapt the manual to publish a guide dedicated to defence lawyers in capital cases in Taiwan specifically by the end of 2014.
For more information, watch the following videos:
- Sandra Babcock presents Representing Individuals Facing the Death Penalty: A Best Practices Manual
http://www.worldcoalition.org/defense-manual-lawyers-capital-cases-death-penalty-mitigating-babcock.html - Weng Guoyan of the Human Rights Commission of the Taipei Bar Association explains the difficulties lawyers experience when representing defendants in capital cases in Taiwan and how useful the guide is going to be.
http://www.worldcoalition.org/Weng-Guoyan-arguments-accused-lawyer-taiwan.html - Teng Biao of China Against the Death Penalty explains the difficulties faced by lawyers in capital cases in China and the role of the guide.
http://www.worldcoalition.org/Teng-Biao-guide-China-defence-lawyers.html