Web

News and Events 新闻活动

Chen Guangcheng Receives Honorary Membership in New York City Bar Association

Date: 2013-02-11

Photo credit: New York City Bar Association

The Executive Committee of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the oldest and most distinguished bar association in the United States, voted to confer Honorary Membership on barefoot lawyer and rights activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚) on January 9, 2013. Chen was presented with this honor by Judge Sidney Stein at an event at the House of the Association on February 7, 2013 for his extraordinary courage using law to advance the public interest.

The Executive Committee of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the oldest and

most distinguished bar association in the United States, voted to confer Honorary Membership

on barefoot lawyer and rights activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚) on January 9, 2013. Chen

was presented with this honor by Judge Sidney Stein at an event at the House of the

Association on February 7, 2013 for his extraordinary courage using law to advance the

public interest.

Honorary Membership is a rare honor which under the Association’s bylaws is reserved for

“justices, judges and members of the legal profession who are of pre-eminent distinction either

in this country or any foreign country.” The honor has been extended to 61 individuals, among

whom are six Chief Justices of the United States, six Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme

Court, two U.S. Presidents, six Lord Chancellors, as well as several advocates for human

rights from other countries. It was most recently presented to former UN High Commissioner

for Human Rights Louise Arbour in 2012. (A full list of honorees can be found at: http://

www.nycbar.org/about-us/awards-aamp-special-lectures/894-honorary-membership)

The honor was presented in conjunction with an event in the Association’s Great Hall titled “The

Dangers of Rights Lawyering in China and the Role of American Law Firms: A Conversation

with Chen Guangcheng,” and also featured Professor Jerome Cohen of NYU Law School, Ira

Belkin, of NYU Law’s US-Asia Law Institute, and was moderated by Frederick A. O. Schwarz,

Jr., Chief Counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice.

At the event, Chen emphasized that all lawyers need to stand up to injustice wherever it

is found. He and other panelists affirmed the importance of supporting lawyers in any

jurisdiction who face pressures or are intimidated simply because the clients and causes

they represent are unpopular. The Association has previously issued the Lawyers’ Statement

of Principles Regarding China (http://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072195-

LawyersStatmentofPrinciplesRegardingChina.pdf) emphasizing concern over reports of the

mistreatment of lawyers in China, and calling on lawyers everywhere to demand that the Chinese

government respect the basic right of Chinese lawyers to practice their profession free of

government interference, police harassment, and surveillance.

The Executive Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the oldest and most distinguished bar association in the United States, voted to confer Honorary Membership on barefoot lawyer and rights activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚) on January 9, 2013. Chen was presented with this honor by Judge Sidney Stein at an event at the House of the Association on February 7, 2013 for his extraordinary courage using law to advance the public interest.

Honorary Membership is a rare honor which under the Association’s bylaws is reserved for “justices, judges and members of the legal profession who are of pre-eminent distinction either in this country or any foreign country.” The honor has been extended to 61 individuals, among whom are six Chief Justices of the United States, six Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, two U.S. Presidents, six Lord Chancellors, as well as several advocates for human rights from other countries. It was most recently presented to former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour in 2012. (A full list of honorees can be found at: http://www.nycbar.org/about-us/awards-aamp-special-lectures/894-honorary-membership)

The honor was presented in conjunction with an event in the Association’s Great Hall titled “The Dangers of Rights Lawyering in China and the Role of American Law Firms: A Conversation with Chen Guangcheng,” and also featured Professor Jerome Cohen of NYU Law School, Ira Belkin, of NYU Law’s US-Asia Law Institute, and was moderated by Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr., Chief Counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice.

At the event, Chen emphasized that all lawyers need to stand up to injustice wherever it is found. He and other panelists affirmed the importance of supporting lawyers in any jurisdiction who face pressures or are intimidated simply because the clients and causes they represent are unpopular. The Association has previously issued the Lawyers’ Statement of Principles Regarding China (http://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072195-LawyersStatmentofPrinciplesRegardingChina.pdf) emphasizing concern over reports of the mistreatment of lawyers in China, and calling on lawyers everywhere to demand that the Chinese government respect the basic right of Chinese lawyers to practice their profession free of government interference, police harassment, and surveillance.

Description: http://www2.nycbar.org/htmlemail/44thST/Chen1.jpg

Photo credit: New York City Bar Association