THE LUDOVIC TRARIEUX PRIZE

The "LUDOVIC-TRARIEUX INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE "

"The award given by Lawyers to a Lawyer"

Nelson Mandela, first Prize winner in 1985

Created in 1984, the Prize is awarded every two years (See "Regulations") to a lawyer, regardless of nationality or Bar, who, by his work, will have illustrated his activity or his suffering, the defence of human rights, of defence rights, the supremacy of law, the struggle against racism and intolerance in any form, after consulting humanitarian associations and NGO. It is awarded jointly by the HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE OF THE BAR OF BORDEAUX and the EUROPEAN LAWYERS'UNION, in memory of the French lawyer, Ludovic TRARIEUX, who in 1898, a hundred years ago, in the midst of the Dreyfus Affair, in France, founded the "French League for the Defence of Human Rights and the Citizen ", which is at the basis of all leagues set up in the world and on the same model since then.

April 27th, 1985 - HRIBB President Bertrand FAVREAU awards the first Ludovic-Trarieux Prize to Zenani Mandela, while her father has been in jail for 23 years in South-Africa.

The first " LUDOVIC TRARIEUX PRIZE " was awarded on March 29^th 1985 to Nelson MANDELA, then in jail.
It was officially handed over to his daughter, Zenani Mandela Dlamini, on April 27^th 1985. Archives

On February 11^th 1990, Nelson MANDELA was released.
Since then, it has been decided to award the Prize every two years in conjunction with the UAE (" Human Rights" Committee) and the HRIBB. To this end, more than 40 non-governmental organisations, Bars or associations with humanitarian goals are consulted all around the world to choose the candidate(s) who seems to fulfil the specific criteria required for nomination for the Prize. The awarding of the Prize has been made possible thanks to the cooperation of the Bar of Bordeaux, of the European Lawyers' Union, the General Council of the Gironde and the French National School of Magistracy.

The following is the list of prizewinners :

1985		Nelson MANDELA (South Africa)
1992		Augusto ZÚÑIGA PAZ (Peru)
1994		Jadranka CIGELJ (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
1996	awarded jointly to	Nejib HOSNI (Tunisia) and to Dalila MEZIANE (Algeria).
1998		ZHOU Guoqiang (China)
2000		Esber YAGMURDERELI (Turkey)

After Nelson MANDELA, in 1985, Najib HOSNI was the second prizewinner while in detention. His candidacy was put forward by the International Union of Lawyers (UIA)(Commission Defense de la Defense), the International Federation Action of Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT), the Centre of Information and Documentation on Torture-Tunisia (C.I.D.T.-TUNISIA), the " Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights " (New-York), Amnesty International, the American Bar Association (ABA), the Institute of Human Rights of the Bar of Paris, Human Rights Watch (Washington).

Mrs. Dalila MEZIANE was the second woman, after Mrs. Jadranka CIGELJ, in 1994, to receive the Prize. Her candidacy was put forward by " European Legal Network on Asylum " (ELENA).

Nejib HOSNI was released by special presidential pardon by President Ben ALI on December 14th 1996, three months after the ceremony award in Bordeaux where the prize had been handed over to his representative, Dr Helen JAFFE, President of AVRE.

October 2nd, 1998 - Robert Badinter gives the Ludovic-Trarieux Prize to Liu Qing

The fifth Prize was awarded on May 25^th 1998, to the Chinese lawyer ZHOU Guoqiang. After Nelson MANDELA and Nejib HOSNI, ZHOU Guoqiang was the third prizewinner not able to come to France in order to receive his Prize, as stipulated by the rules of the Prize. Because of the risks to his family and to himself, and notably that of being forced into exile, like many other Chinese dissidents prevented from going back to China if he left the territory to come and receive his Prize in France, ZHOU Guoqiang had no other choice but to mandate Mr. LIU Qing, Chairman of HUMAN RIGHTS in CHINA, who has been living in exile in New York since 1991, to go and receive the Prize in his name. Thus, the reward was given to him by M. Robert BADINTER on Friday 2nd October 1998 in the amphitheater of the National school of Judiciary (Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature) in Bordeaux and on that occasion Mr LIU Qing read the speech written by ZHOU Guoqiang for the Ceremony award.

Ugur Yagmurdereli reading the speech of his father.Photo BAP

The sixth "LUDOVIC-TRARIEUX INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE" was awarded on March 2^th 2000, to the Turkish blind writer, lawyer, and human right activist, Esber Yagmurdereli, jailed since June 1998, for having expressed his views on the Kurdish issue.The Prize was given to the Prize winner's son, Mr. Ugur Yagmurdereli, on 29^th September2000. Esber Yagmurdereli’ son Ugur Yagmurdereli received the prize on behalf of his father and read his father’s message and received the prize.(Click to see speeches.)

And to learn more : "Le droit , la justice, l'humanité"