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29 Judges J. 1 (1990)

handle is hein.journals/judgej29 and id is 1 raw text is: They Must Not Stand A one An Editorial By Francis J. Larkin At a November 4, 1989, meeting of the Judicial Administration Division (JAD) Executive Com- mittee, we heard the news that two more members of the Colombian judiciary, Maria Elena Dias and Carlos Valencia, had been brutally struck down in violent bomb attacks. They were murdered because they had offended the drug lords of that country. They were murdered for simply discharging their judicial duties and enforcing the rule of law in Col- ombia. The courage of those judges and of other judges and officials in Colombia who stand up to this narco-terrorism is a model for us all. When this news reached our meeting room, there was a palpable sense of outrage at this latest inci- dent. Although there had been nothing on our for- mal agenda concerning this subject, the meeting was briefly adjourned, and the accompanying resolu- tion (see box) was prepared. It was unanimously adopted by the JAD Executive Committee and later ratified by the entire Council. Following this ac- tion, the full text of the resolution in support of the judiciary of Colombia was released to the national media by the ABA. The resolution should not be viewed as empty and sterile rhetoric. Rather, for judges everywhere it contains words to live by. In the progress of man- kind there are times that call for extraordinary courage, fidelity, and perspective. Such times chal- lenge men and women to stand in gratitude for acts JAD Resolution on the Colombian Judiciary Independence, impartiality, and moral cour- age long have been deemed the most esteemed and indispensable qualities of judges. With these qualities, individuals discharging the ju- dicial function ensure that their decisions achieve true justice among men and women, and between governments and citizens, regard- less of status, place, or position. These qualities also tend to assure decisions which reinforce the principle that no person is above the law and that no individual, or group of individuals, may flaunt the law with impunity. That is why recent events in Colombia have aroused moral outrage of the international ju- dicial community. The direct, contrived, and contemptible attack on the judiciary of Co- lombia has been an exercise in infamy without parallel in modern judicial history. The inju- ries, death, and destruction inflicted on these brave men and women because they do seek to discharge the judicial function without fear or favor, is a direct, brutal, and calculated assault on judges everywhere. It is an assault which strikes at the very heart of the judicial process wherever fair-minded jurists seek to discharge that noble function. Accordingly, the Judicial Administration Di- vision of the American Bar Association de- nounces this flagrant and calculated attempt to intimidate the judiciary of the Republic of Co- lombia. We ask judges, lawyers, government officials-and fair-minded citizens every- where-to take all possible measures to mani- fest unalterable revulsion and opposition to these measures. We call on the Government of the United States to provide all feasible sup- port in assisting the Colombian government to deflect and ultimately defeat these measures. Above all we want our fellow judges in Co- lombia to know that they do not stand alone. The judges of the American Bar Association stand with them in their hour of torment and crisis; confident that the unflagging moral and physical courage which they have demon- strated will ultimately prevail; confident, al- ways, that with a united stand, the light of the Rule of Law will prevail over the darkness of the Rule of Anarchy. Winter 1990

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