Author: World Jurist Admin

The right to vaccine of all humanity

By: Javier Cremades – President of the World Jurist Association and Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo Lawyers, and Diego García-Sayán –  former President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2010-2014).

On January 30, 2020, the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom, declared a planetary public health emergency. From that moment on, it was clear – and official – that Covid-19 knew no borders and that its effects would not be limited to Wuhan or the Chinese giant.

Under a pandemic that has already caused more than 400,000 deaths, global hope relies on a vaccine accessible for all, regardless of nationality or income.

Currently, WHO, governments, private entities and pharmaceutical giants invest unprecedented amounts of money to develop a drug that ends with this pandemic once and for all; however, no drug have rescued as many lives as vaccines.

Currently, the main challenge is not lack of access to vaccines, treatments or cures for Covid-19, but the actual absence of them. According to experts, the vaccine will arrive throughout 2021. What will happen if that vaccine is exclusively patented by a third party?

As it is well known, one of the main functions of Industrial Property is to provide an incentive system that promotes innovation and ensures the journey of the product through the numerous stages, not without risks, ranging from invention to production and marketing. Patenting sets a right of ownership over an intangible good. Patent owner may be granted a monopoly by a government and, in the case of medicines, it can exceed 20 years.

During one of his latest statement, Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and top authority on industrial property issues, reminded us that “generally speaking, almost 70% of research and development funding is provided by the private sector, while about 30% is funded by States.”

Beyond whether this percentage division is applicable in the current research process to find a Covid-19 vaccine, for many the balance between the incentive to innovation and the granting of a monopoly to the inventor is what has facilitated the exponential growth of medicines for all kinds of ailments and diseases. That being the case, is this system mechanically applicable to the current pandemic? How to combine this right to intellectual property with the right to a vaccine for all mankind?

Just over a year ago, the World Trade Organization (WTO) commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Marrakesh Agreement, which marked the most drastic reform of the global trade system since World War II. Governments at the time were aware that the classic balances of patent ownership rights could not prevail in exceptional situations. Article 31 of this international agreement includes so-called compulsory licenses in cases of “national emergency” or “extreme urgency”. This legal figure, hardly applied in practice, is another expression of the traditional forced expropriation on account of public utility. This “expropriation” of a vaccine could be one of the alternatives governments could turn into to address the cry of billions of people who are also entitled to health and, in this case, to be saved from dying in the pandemic.

However, reducing incentives to researchers and investors, who are using vast human and financial resources to develop the longed-for vaccine, could delay the development and final commercialization of the vaccine. For this reason, compulsory licenses are subject to “adequate remuneration” to the Patent owner. This is precisely the position of countries such as Germany, Canada or Chile, which have already ordered the granting of forced licenses for all Covid-19 linked patents.

At the moment, the collaborative promotion and encouragement of research between the public and private sectors are key to achieving the awaited cure. However, the extreme severity of the situation will subsequently justify resorting to exceptional solutions within the framework of international Agreements; thus, the vaccine will be available to all humanity.

Save the date_Barcelona

World Law Congress. Online Opening Session. Barcelona 07 JUL 2020

The World Law Congress 2021 begins this coming July 7, with an innovative On-going format that will hold fifteen monthly Online Opening Sessions from different countries around the world, finalizing in Cartagena de Indias on November 17 and 18, 2021.

The Barcelona Bar Association, led by Dean Ma. Eugenia Gay, President of WJA Spain, will be hosting the Opening Session Barcelona, a hybrid event that will feature both face-to-face and online attendees, and panelists of the highest level. First, there will be a short institutional opening event, and then the development of the panel “Will the Rule of Law Survive in Europe?”, contextualized on the deterioration of the European unity, not only owing the Brexit, but also because of the reaction to Covid-19 related matters and the disputes between the constitutional courts.

REGISTRO GRATUITO Y ENLACE DE ACCESO
Se requiere registro por adelantado

Se puede seguir la sesión con el audio original a través del canal de Youtube del Colegio de Abogados de Barcelona, a través de este link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoUrDebCVF2W-VZvGRBhiOg


Fecha:
07 JUL 2020

Hora:
10:00 Bogotá
11:00 Nueva York
17:00 Madrid
23:00 Hong Kong


La World Law Foundation nombra nuevos patronos

La World Law Foundation ha celebrado, de forma telemática, una nueva reunión del Patronato que ha contando con Javier Cremades, como presidente, y con Alfredo Dagnino como el secretario del Patronato.

En el encuentro virtual han participado Viviane Reding, vicepresidenta del Patronato de la World Law Foundation y miembro del Parlamento Europeo, Elisabeth Cassin, sobrina nieta de Rene Cassin, Hanna Stanisława Suchocka, primera ministra de Polonia,   en los 1992 y 1993, y miembro del Club de Madrid, Hilarie Bass, presidenta del Bass Institute for Diversity and Inclusion y ex presidenta de la American Bar Association, María Eugenia Gay Rosell, decana del Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Barcelona, Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot, presidente de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en México, Luis de Carlos, presidente de Uria Menéndez, Carlos Ayala, vicepresidente de la International Commission of Jurists, Juan Pablo GallegoCarlos de la Mata, abogado, James Black II, Councel Silverman Acampora, David Hatchwell y Ulises Fernández.

En la sesión también ha intervenido María Dolores de Cospedal, que fue nombrada Patrona de la Fundación, junto con Antonio Poncioni, asesor senior de Lazard, jefe de Asuntos Gubernamentales y Relaciones Externas, así como director para África, Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Portugal en Moshe Capital, Ana Pastor, vicepresidenta segunda del Congreso de los Diputados, Manuel Valls, ex primer ministro de Francia y actual concejal del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, Santiago Solines y Andrés Cardó, presidente de Andrés Cardó & Asociados, miembro independiente del Board of Directors y del Audit Committee de VASTA y miembro independiente del Comité Operativo del Grupo El Comercio – Prensa & News, que ha sido consejero delegado de Prisa Radio y Cadena SER, director general internacional de Prisa Radio, director general de Operaciones de Prisa, miembro del Board of Directors del Grupo Santillana, director de Desarrollo Corporativo, Comercial y Marketing de Prisa, Country Manager de Prisa en Brasil, director general Grupo Santillana y director general de Editora Moderna en Brasil, además de director general de la Editorial Santillana en Bolivia.

Durante el encuentro, el presidente de la Fundación, Javier Cremades, ha hecho partícipe a todos los participantes de la entrega del World Peace & Liberty Award a la Magistrada de la Corte Suprema de EEUU, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, el pasado mes de febrero. También ha compartido con los participantes cómo se están desarrollando los preparativos para el próximo World Law Congress, al igual que les ha trasladado los avances para este congreso que se celebrará en noviembre de 2021 en Cartagena de Indias.

Colombian President, Iván Duque, receives representatives of the World Jurist Association and the World Law Foundation

Representatives of the World Jurist Association and the World Law Foundation presented the World Law Congress before the President of Colombia, Iván Duque.  The upcoming Congress will be celebrated in Bogota and Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on February 8-10, 2021.

The reception took place at the `Palacio de Nariño´ and was also attended by the Minister of Justice and Law of Colombia, Margarita Cabello Blanco, the Inspector General of Colombia, Fernando Carrillo Flórez, Juan Luis Cebrián, Founding Trustee of the World Law Foundation and President of Honor of El País of Spain, Martín Acero,  Managing Partner of PPU,  university authorities and other notable personalities.

In relation to the next edition of the World Law Congress that will place Colombia, President Iván Duque, pointed out that its celebration is a great recognition to the effort of all Colombians  defending the Rule of Law as a guarantor of freedom, order, peace and concord among themselves. Furthermore, Javier Cremades, president of the World Jurist Association and the World Law Foundation, described this congress as a “declaration of the international legal community to the commitment that the Colombian society has with the defense and strengthening of the Rule of Law and its institutions, in opposition to violence, as well as its effort to create a society of opportunities, freer and more just for all”.

During the World Law Congress 2021, the World Peace & Liberty Award will be presented to a distinguished personality. This award has been previously received by international jurists committed with the defense of the Rule of Law, such as Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, René Cassin, King Philip VI of Spain,  and, recently, the Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

President Duque seeing a replica of the World Peace & Liberty Award presented to Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg on February 07, 2020 in Washington DC
Representatives of the World Jurist Association & World Law Foundation with President Ivan Duque
Meeting at Palacio de Nariño
Meeting at Palacio de Nariño
WJA & WLF President, Javier Cremades, & President of Colombia, Iván Duque
Juan Luis Cebrián, Founding Trustee of the World Law Foundation, greeting President of Colombia, Iván Duque
Diego Solana, WJA member and Program Coordinator of the World Law Congress Colombia 2021, greeting President of Colombia, Iván Duque
Gabriel Fernández Rojas, WJA member and General Coordinator of the World Law Congress Colombia 2021, greeting President of Colombia, Iván Duque

Diego Solana & Iván Duque
Javier Cremades, Juan Luis Cebrián & Iván Duque

The World Jurist Association Awarded Press Freedom & Democracy

In Colombia, the World Jurist Association recognized media and journalists in a ceremony held on February 11, 2020 at the headquarters of the National Media Association “Asomedios” in Bogota. As the WJA, this association defends freedom of expression and promotes the development of the media sector in Colombia.

A total of four distinctions were awarded to “honor a well-done work in the defense of press freedom and democracy through truthful and proven information”, as Javier Cremades, president of the World Jurist Association, remarked. Laudations were in charge of relevant personalities, such as Juan Luis Cebrián, Founding Trustee of the World Law Foundation and Founder and Honorary President of El País (Spanish newspaper) and Fernando Carrillo Florez, Inspector General of Colombia, among others.

Roberto Pombo, director of the daily El Tiempo (Colombia), was awarded the Medal of Press Freedom, for his magnificent work in assuring fair information from different perspectives.

Three distinctions in the category of Defence of Democracy were awarded to newspapers in different countries: El Espectador (Colombia) received by Ana María Busquets, widow of Guillermo Cano; El Nacional (Venezuela) received by its Director Miguel Henrique Otero; and Cambio16 (Spain), received by its Editor Jorge Neri, also on behalf of its President Gorka Landaburu. All of them, first hand victims of terrorism, drug cartels and dictatorship.

This ceremony was celebrated in concordance with the values of the World Jurist Association, recognizing of the inherent dignity, equal rights and inalienability of humanity, as established in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Related links:

La World Law Foundation otorgó reconocimiento a Miguel Henrique Otero por su lucha a favor de la democracia en el país (El Nacional)

Reconocimiento internacional a trayectoria de periodistas (El Tiempo)

Jorge Neri recibió medalla por la lucha de Cambio16 en defensa de las democracias (Cambio16)

Family picture of the awarding ceremony at Asomedios
Fernando Carrillo Florez, Inspector General of Colombia
Jorge Neri, Roberto Pombo, Juan Luis Cebrián, Ana María Busquets de Cano, Miguel Henrique Otero & Fernando Carrillo Florez
Jorge Neri, Editor of Cambio 16, being impossed with the Defense of Democracy Medal by the Inspector General of Colombia, Fernando Carrillo Florez

Representatives of the World Jurist Association and the World Law Foundation meet with the Mayoress of Bogota

The Mayoress of Bogota, Claudia López, met with a delegation of the World Jurist Association (WJA) and the World Law Foundation (WLF), headed by their President, Javier Cremades, on the occasion of the presentation of the World Law Congress 2021, which will be hosted by Colombia on February 8-10, 2021. The meeting was also attended by the Inspector General of Colombia, Fernando Carrillo FlórezJuan Luis Cebrián, Trustee of the WLF and Honorary President of El País of Spain, members of the Organizing Commission from different countries and other Colombian leading personalities.

The main congress will be held in Cartagena de Indias, but Bogota will also serve as venue. During the meeting, attendees explored different ways of cooperation so that the Capital District can actively participate in the celebration of this great international event.

More than a hundred speakers of different nationalities from the five continents are expected to participate in the 27th World Congress of Law, to promote the Rule of Law as an instrument for the development of nations, offering a comprehensive vision of the great issues that concern humanity and to which the jurist community must respond.

In this sense, Javier Cremades said that «this congress wants to be a recognition from the international legal community to the commitment of the Colombian society and institutions, for their defense and strengthening of the Rule of Law in the face of the scourge of violence, and their effort to building and consolidating a society of opportunities, freer and fairer for all.

The World Law Congress 2021 will close with the presentation of the ‘World Peace & Liberty Award‘ to an important international personality who will join the select group of laureates for their commitment to the defense of the Rule of Law. This recognition, also known as the ‘Nobel Prize in Law’, has previously been received by personalities such as Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, René Cassin, the Philip VI King of Spain and, more recently, by Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a champion of equality and women’s rights from the highest levels of the judiciary in the United States.

Related links:

Combia will be the Epicenter of Law in 2021 (Spanish) (El Espectador)

Colombia será sede del Congreso Mundial del Derecho en febrero de 2021(Noticias Caracol)

Cartagena será sede del Congreso Mundial del Derecho en el 2021 (Radio Caracol)

Santos y Uribe se darán cita en el primer World Law Congress que se hará en Colombia (W Radio)

Colombia será sede del congreso mundial del derecho en 2021 (El tiempo)

Cartagena será sede del Congreso Mundial del Derecho (El Universal) 

Cartagena será sede del XXVI Congreso Mundial del Derecho en 2021 (Región Caribe)

Cartagena será sede del Congreso Mundial del Derecho en el 2021 (La Vibrante)

En Colombia el Mundial de Derecho (Siete Dias Boyacá)

Colombia: centro mundial del derecho (El Espectador)

Congreso mundial de juristas (El Espectador)

Colombia será sede del World Law Congress 2021 (Law&Trends)

Bogotá to host 2021 World Law Congress (Iberian Lawyer)