MORE THAN EVENTS - WORLD FORUM OF JUDGES

     The World Forum of Judges is a movement. It originated itself from legal workshops held during the First World Social Forum. Several operators of law were met, at the headquarters of Amatra-RS and Ajuris, in January 2001. Since then, has been expanding.

     The most important characteristic is being promoted by all entities of magistrates of all the national and regional entities of the state. [i] 0 WFJ - World Forum of Judges is inserted into the WSF - World Social Forum.[ii]  Notes its same principles, advocates the democratization and independence of the judicial systems of all peoples and the effect of fundamental rights.

     Have been carried out four editions of WFJ, three in Porto Alegre, in the years 2002, 2003 and 2005 and one in the city of Buenos Aires in 2004. Also, in 2004, held a workshop in the city of Mumbai, India, where the World Social Forum took place in that city and in January 2006, held workshops in the city of Caracas, Venezuela, while the II Social Forum of the Americas was held there.

     Since its first edition, has been prestigiated, with participants from global projection as the Indian P. Bawhghatti, former president of Supreme Court; Mary Robinson, the Commissioner of United Nations for Human Rights, the celebrated Spanish judge Baltazar Garzon, and Argentine Judge Rodolfo Capon Fillas, Perfecto Ibañoz of Spain, among other highlights.

     In 2003, had as highlights Boaventura Santos, Portuguese sociologist; Mireille Delmas-Marty, from France, former member of the European Court of Human Rights. In Buenos Aires 2004, were Raul Zaffaroni and Leandro Despouys from Argentina, Italian Franco Ippolito, of the Democratic Magistracy of Italy. [iii]

 
     The IV WFJ in 2005 brought to Porto Alegre, the judge of the Supreme Court and vice chairman of the National Council of Justice of Spain, Fernando Salinas, the French journalist Ignacio Ramonet, board member of the international World Social Forum, the “Taiwan” judge Yang-Fu-Chiang, the Italian Gherardo Colombo, of the Operation Clean Hands and other major participants.

     It is said that the WFJ is a movement and not just an event. It has been relevant developments. The WFJ, which in its first edition gave emphasis to the issue of access to justice contributes, in some way, for the creation of the NGO Institute of Access to Justice, in activity in Porto Alegre.

     As deployment of II WFJ, took place in Chile in 2004 the “fundacional” Meeting of the Ibero-American Network of Judges, which brought together colleagues from ten countries of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, which has acted in cases of disrespect to the independence of the judiciary and denounced cases of disregard for fundamental rights.

     The judges of work, less than two years ago, founded the LAJL – Latin-american Association of Judges of Labor,[iv] which held in April this year, the II International Congress of Judges Labour Latin Americans in the city of Manaus. The new entity has the principles just as the FMJ, the defence of democracy and independence of the Judiciary and the effectiveness of social rights, also included among the fundamental rights.

     It is coming another World Social Forum, now in the city of Belem, capital of Pará Already in the air "the consultation proposal by the International Council of the WSF, which seeks to identify targets for action that potencialize the dialogue" in virtual space. [v]

     Also, as it could not let beeing, it is already taught the realization in coming days, the beginning of 2009, another edition of WFJ. The issues are being examined and will be determined after consultations with various associations of magistrates, Nation and State. Certainly, will point to the organisation of a Judiciary that the "judicial relief" and will give "continuity" to the search of social rights, in terms remembered by Judge Labour Jose Fernando Ehlers de Moura ("Condições para a Democracia" [vi], Porto Alegre: Sergio Fabris, 2007, p.71).

   Maria Madalena Telesca - mmtelesca@terra.com.br

   Ricardo Carvalho Fraga - ricardocfraga@hotmail.com

   Judges Labour – Porto Alegre - RS

(tradução de Rodrigo Fraga Mohr - rodmohr@hotmail.com)