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The Marek Nowicki Memorial Lecture honors the memory of the late Marek Nowicki (1947-2003), an eminent international human rights activist and defender. The two annual lectures, one held in Budapest and one in Warsaw, are funded by the Open Society Institute.
Appointed an expert on human rights by the Polish parliament, Nowicki co-authored the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and helped shape the Polish Constitution. Nowicki wrote extensively on the history and the philosophy of human rights, he co-created documentaries and educational programs, and he spoke passionately on rights and freedoms, thus contributing his expertise to numerous international organizations. He was instigator and supporter of human rights movements in authoritarian countries and new democracies—especially Poland and the other post-Soviet states. Until the end of his life, Nowicki continued to give lectures to audiences all over Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, where his character and charisma made him a trusted leader, and a symbol in the non-violent fight for individual rights and dignity.
Marek Nowicki studied nuclear physics in the 1960s, while passionately helping to popularize mountaineering among student groups in Poland. In the years 1972–'81, Nowicki worked for the Mathematics and Physics Department of Warsaw University. In 1980 and '81, he was active in the “Mazowsze” chapter of the NSZZ Solidarność movement. During martial law, Nowicki was detained by the Polish authorities. In December of 1982, Nowicki co-founded the underground Helsinki Committee of Poland. After the fall of Communism, the members of the Committee, under Nowicki's leadership, established the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. The Foundation has flourished into one of the most active and experienced non-governmental organizations in Europe today. Nowicki presided over the organization until his premature death in 2003.
5th Marek Nowicki Memorial Lecture: "Will Pakistan's Democracy Survive?" by Asma Jahangir, Nov. 2, 2009, 6 PM, CEU Auditorium (check the video recording of the lecture on YouTube)
Asma Jahangir is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and has been twice elected as Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. From 1998 to 2004 she also served as Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions, and currently she serves as Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Religion or Belief of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She is also Co-Chair of South Asia for Human Rights since 2000, and the Director of the AGHS Legal Aid Cell, which provides free legal assistance to the needy.
Ms. Jahangir was instrumental in the formation of the Punjab Women Lawyers Association in 1980 and the Women Action Forum in 1985. She was placed under house arrest and later imprisoned for participating in the movement to restore political and fundamental rights under the military regime in 1983. Due to her efforts to secure justice for disadvantaged groups, she has been frequently threatened by militant groups. Ms. Jahangir has authored two books and five papers. She has received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Queen's University, Canada, and Amherst College, USA. She has been the recipient of a number of international and national awards, among them the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1995. She served as a leading figure in the campaign waged by the women activists against the promulgation of the controversial Hadood Ordinances and draft law on evidence. Moreover, she has defended cases of discrimination against religious minorities, women and children. Ms. Jahangir represented several clients who were denied their fundamental rights. Notable amongst them are the cases she fought for brick kiln workers, who are mostly bonded labourers in Pakistan, and tried in setting for them a legislation passed through the parliament in favour of bonded workers.
Previous lectures:
On November 27, 2008, CEU hosted the fourth Marek Nowicki Memorial Lecture, delivered by the Honorable Judge Theodor Meron. Entitled " The Humanization of the Law of War", the event was organized by the Open Society Institute and the Department of Legal Studies, CEU. The laudatio was given by Yehuda Elkana, CEU President and Rector, with the introductory remarks delivered by Wiktor Osiatynski, CEU University Professor. Renáta Uitz (Department of Legal Studies) acted as chair. Judge Meron delivered his second lecture entitled "Human Rights Law Marches into New Territory: The Enforcement of International Human Rights in International Criminal Tribunals" in the framework of the lecture series in Warsaw on Nov. 28, 2008.
On May 30, 2007, CEU hosted a public lecture by Aharon Barak, Visiting Professor, Yale Law School, former President, Supreme Court of Israel, entitled "Human Rights and the Battle against Terror". The event was organized by the Open Society Institure, Budapest and Central European University in the framework of the third Marek Nowicki Memorial Lecture and was attended by a large audience comprising both CEU community and external guests, including HE David Admon, Israel Ambassador to Hungary and HE Robert Hage, Canadian Ambassador to Hungary. Introductory remarks were delivered by András Sajó (Department of Legal Studies).
On November 23, 2006, the second Marek Nowicki Memorial Lecture, presented by the Open Society Institute and Central European University, was given by the Norwegian-born political theorist, Jon Elster (Columbia University, US; Chaire du Rationalite et Sciences Sociales, France), on " The Making of the French Declaration of Human Rights". He held the second part of the lecture one week later in Warsaw. Stefan Messmann (Department of Legal Studies) served as chair of the event, and Wiktor Osiatynski (CEU University Professor) offered introductory words about Elster, as well as the background of the lecture series.
President Arthur Chaskalson of the South African Constitutional Court delivered the first Marek Nowicki Memorial Lecture on November 26, 2003, entitled "Human Rights and Transition to Democracy: The Experience of the Constitutional Court of South Africa". The lecture dedicated to the achievements of Marek Nowicki, the admired Polish human rights advocate, explored the decade-long efforts of South African constitution makers and human rights defenders in undoing the injustices of apartheid.