A Career as an Attorney with Human Rights Commission

In some countries across the world government agencies have launched investigations into questionable conducts of the human rights commission. There are allegations in these countries that human rights commissions that were formed with intent of fighting for basic human rights have turned themselves into kangaroo courts. They thus collaborate with government agencies to fleece individuals of their hard earned money. Various cases have been put forward to show evidence of these positions. The allegations further intimate that human rights commissions are set up to fight for political and personal agendas. This is a digression from their mandate and a bad reputation for a legal career. There have been suggestions in these countries for a complete overhaul of their human rights commissions.

In case you have been reported to a human rights commission you will have to hire a lawyer. Your accusers on the other hand will have the privilege of being represented by state lawyers on the taxpayers account. A legal career normally requires fair representation from both sides which is not the case here. In this case if you lose a case you won't be awarded any damages. Your account will thus have been set back by a considerable amount of money to the attorney's fee. Your accusers on the other hand will have enjoyed the privilege of a human rights commission attorney. If they are awarded any damages they take all the money despite the privileges they are accorded.


From recent actions by various human rights commissions it seems that only certain religious groups are being protected by the human rights commissions. Certain acts by some against other religions normally elicit a lot of interest from human rights commissions, while others don't. Using the human rights commission to settle scores is setting a bad precedent. This is because the state can use that opportunity to ban political as well as religious comments.

A Human rights commission attorney has a job to prosecute violators of human rights. He does an attorney job for the commission. Several people nowadays carry on with their legal career as a human rights commission attorney. The way human rights commission conducts their investigations is different from the standards set in a regular legal career. They spend a lot of time investigating cases that would have otherwise taken a shorter time. A human rights commission attorney is paid by the taxpayers. Therefore they don't sweat to produce results in a shorter period of time because they know that whether they work faster or not their salaries will be constant. They have no strict deadlines to meet. The percentage of their earnings is not from the damages awarded to the client. Neither do they follow up with each client day in and day out for their legal fees.

The human rights commissions' rulings are normally questionable. The facts have no basis in law, strictly speaking. As we indicated earlier it is like the humans rights attorney has the leeway in deciding what a human rights violation is, and what is not.

Human rights commissions do not operate like normal courts. There is no room for appeal after a decision is made. In normal circumstances it is the duty of an attorney to appeal a case based on a client's advice. Human rights commissions are tribunals and their decisions are normally final.

An attorney job is not normally concerned with issues of inconvenience but on issues of fact based upon the law. This means that a legal career as human rights attorney is totally different from a normal or standard legal career.

One person alleged that the fact that those human rights commissions have been set up means that commenting on issues that are factually true could land you in a lot of trouble with the commission. The kangaroo courts formed by these human rights commissions unlike in a normal legal career can order you to pay damages personally to a complainant. Your accusers to a human rights commission attorney normally don't hire lawyers. Their costs are normally picked up by the government. If you win a case against your accusers you will unfortunately not be awarded anything.

A suggestion being floated is that human rights commissions should be remodeled along the traditional system. This will make an attorney job easier to determine based on legal facts, just like in a normal legal career. The human rights commissions do not normally base their arguments based on the constitutional rights of those it prosecutes in the name of protecting human rights. In various countries that these commissions purport to defend the rights of citizens, there are always clear distinctions between the state and religion. There is also freedom of association and speech. However, the human rights commission attorney doesn't rely on these facts as it is normally the case in a legal career.

There is no future for lawyers prosecuting the cases in a human rights commission. This is because the mandate of the commissions is specifically set out in the instituting laws. An attorney job cannot grow in area where there is no room for growth.

Various organizations have come out in protest against human rights commissions. They are violating the very rights that they claim they are protecting. Society cannot wake up one day and complain incessantly about the very institution that is meant to protect its rights. The traditional nature of the justice system should cut across all sectors of governance. The law is very sacred; that is what differentiates us from the animal kingdom. We are organized rational beings. We should continue in that spirit.

The idea of protecting some religious groups more than others is not right. We are equal before the law. The law doesn't recognize superiority or inferiority. It is therefore necessary for a human rights commission attorney to practice the same way an outside legal career dictates. An attorney job is an attorney job whether you are employed by the government or you are a human rights commission attorney.