Date:14May 2019

Human Rights Seminar Series – Role of a Defence Lawyer in the Prevention of Investigative Torture by Sanjeewa Liyanage (International Program Director, International Bridges to Justice)

Torture is widely used by police as a routine method of criminal investigation in many developing countries. Often, these investigations are carried out without the presence of a lawyer. Why? What role do lawyers play to implement principles of human rights within the criminal justice system? And do these lawyers have the capacity to prevent investigative torture? This seminar will draw on experiences from Asia and Africa on the role played by defence lawyers in preventing investigative torture before it happens.

Sanjeewa Liyanage has directed and managed human rights and rule of law programs globally for over 25 years. He is currently the International Program Director of Geneva-based International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) and oversees the international portfolio of IBJ across 48 countries. He has conducted training for lawyers and justice officials in over 20 countries, including Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Dem. Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Syria. Sanjeewa has held senior positions at the International Young Christian Students, Asian Legal Resource Centre and the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He has led representations at various UN forums including the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture. Sanjeewa is the former East Asian focal point for the NGO Coalition for International Criminal Court (CICC). He has undergone human rights training at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague and Danish Institute (formerly Danish Centre) for Human Rights (DIHR) in Copenhagen. He obtained his Masters of Law (LLM) (Human Rights) at the University of Hong Kong and completed executive education at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.