Established in 2010 in the framework of the EU funded project “Lawyers serving lawyers”, the Observatory was re-established in 2015.

The Observatory’s basic aim is to uphold the right to practice law freely and totally independently, and to denounce situations where the right to legal council is at risk.  

The Observatory’s work covers warnings, field support and training.

Our Team

The Observatory main office is in Paris.

The French National Bars Council and the Paris Bar have put two persons at the disposal of the Observatory. Their work is geared towards fostering networking and coordinating the different missions.

Through its Foundation, the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (Spanish General Bar Council  also provides a person whose direct responsibility includes the identification, formulation and coordination of the Observatory’s activity.

Our Missions

The International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (IOLD) is an initiative of the French National Bars Council  (France), the Paris Bar Association (France), the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (Spain) and the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italy).

Established in 2010 in the framework of the EU funded project “Lawyers serving lawyers”, it was re-established in May 2015 to defend legal representation and denounce situations that violated the right to counsel.

The Observatory came about with the intention of coordinating its work with that of third-party entities, networks and mechanisms operating in the sphere of protecting lawyers in general and specifically lawyers defending human rights.  

The Observatory acts as an umbrella for a large number of bar associations and civil society organizations enabling it to play a leading role in defending lawyers in danger both nationally and internationally.

The Observatory’s work covers warnings, filed support and training:

Our Members

As an inclusive structure, membership in the Observatory is open to all bars and associations involved or wishing to invest in the defense of threatened lawyers.

The Observatory’s by-laws establish different categories of members:

The “Founding members” are the Conseil National des Barreaux (France), the Barreau de Paris (France), the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (Spain) and the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italy).
The “Active members” are the bars and national councils that wish to join the Observatory.
The “Associate members” are the bar associations and other lawyers’ associations, union and international conferences interested in becoming involved in the Observatory’s work.

Any other entity or civil society organization involved in protecting human rights defenders can also contribute with its resources and capabilities as a “partner”.

The governance of the Observatory has been designed to meet both the imperative of efficiency and speed imposed by the situations of lawyers in danger and the imperative of democracy and inclusiveness of the largest number of organizations. The Observatory is thus composed:

• A Board composed of 4 founding members and 2 elected among the “active members” of the Observatory. The Board appoints a Chair, General Director, and Treasurer, defines the Observatory’s strategic lines, and approves action to support lawyers in danger. 
• A General Assembly that brings together founding members, active members, associate members and the Observatory’s Partners, at least once a year. Only founding members and active members, who pay an annual fee, have voting rights. The General Assembly validates the financial and moral report, decides on all the questions submitted to it and elects the two  active members to the Board. The General Assembly is also the occasion to debate the general situation of lawyers in the world in order to feed the reflections of the Board for the definition of the Observatory strategy.

Join the Observatory

To date, 47 bar associations have joined the Observatory as active members: