**ALLIANCE FOR LAWYERS AT RISK CIO Registered charity no. 1205449 President: Rt Hon Dominic Grieve KC Vice-Presidents: Guy Beringer CBE, KC (Hon), Prof Christine Chinkin CMG** ## **Trustees' Annual Report 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025** ## **1. Trustee and Charity Information** **Charity name** : Alliance for Lawyers at Risk CIO **Registered Charity Number** : 1205449 **Registered Address:** 124 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX **Trustees (July '24 to date):** Dominic Grieve KC, PC (President) Sir Peter Roth (Chairman) Professor Christine Chinkin CMG (Vice President) Guy Beringer CBE, KC (Hon) (Vice President)[1] Deborah Finkler (Vice President)[2] Susi Bascon[3] Dr Silvia Borelli Mark Cunningham KC Deepak Nambisan Kelwin Nicholls Geoff Nicholas Kristina Nordlander Maya Lester KC Andrew Hood Ben Silverstone[4] Zoe MacCallum[5] There is no chief executive officer and there are no paid staff working for the charity. > 1 Resigned October 2025 2 Joined January 2026 > 3 Resigned April 2026 4 Joined October 2025 5 Resigned March 2026 ## **2. Description of the charity's governance** The charity is incorporated as a CIO. The governing document of the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk CIO (the " **Alliance** ") is its Constitution adopted on 27 October 2023, which is available on its website (lawyersatrisk.org). The Trustees manage the affairs of the Alliance. Trustees are appointed and may be removed by the existing Trustees. Trustees give of their time and expertise voluntarily. Trustees receive no remuneration or benefits from acting as Trustees. ## **3. Objects of the charity** The objects of the charity are set out in its Constitution. The object of the Alliance is to promote human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations) and to seek to protect the rule of law for the benefit of the public throughout the world by all or any of the following means: - securing the enforcement and proper administration of human rights law, in particular but without limitation, by supporting lawyers and other human rights defenders who are at risk by reason of their work; - promoting the education and training of lawyers and human rights defenders in all matters relating to the proper administration of human rights law; - international advocacy of human rights by making representations to governments and others; - research into human rights issues; - providing technical advice to governments and others on human rights law; - commenting on proposed legislation with potential human rights implications; and - • raising awareness of human rights issues and promoting the importance of the rule of law. ## **4. Activities in the period covered by this report** This is the second annual report of the Alliance. In the period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, the Alliance carried out the following activities. ## _**(a) Operational matters**_ The Alliance continued to be supported in its general operations by volunteers from the law firm Slaughter and May, including in relation to day-to-day administrative, governance, and coordination functions. The Trustees met periodically throughout the reporting period to oversee the Alliance’s activities and consider matters of governance and strategy. As such, the Trustees remained actively engaged in setting priorities for the Alliance’s work and ensuring that its activities were aligned with its objectives. During the reporting period, the Alliance maintained and strengthened its relationships with partner organisations, legal professionals, and members of the wider human rights community. These relationships play an important role in informing the Alliance’s work, identifying emerging areas of concern, and facilitating effective collaboration where appropriate. The Alliance also continued to review and refine its internal processes to ensure that its operations remain effective and compliant with applicable regulatory requirements. ## _**(b) Sir Henry Brooke Award**_ In February 2025, the Alliance again presented its annual Sir Henry Brooke Award. The Award is named after, and honours the life and legacy of, the late founder of the Alliance, Sir Henry Brooke. It recognises a legal practitioner or human rights defender who, through personal endeavour in the course of his or her practice in a challenging environment, has made an outstanding contribution to the promotion, protection, and advancement of human rights and the rule of law. Nominations for the 2025 Sir Henry Brooke Award were assessed by an independent selection panel comprising Professor Christine Chinkin, Lord Carnwath, Sir Patrick Elias, Maya Lester KC, and Lizzette Robleto de Howarth. The recipient of the 2025 Sir Henry Brooke Award was the Guatemalan human rights lawyer Ms Virginia Laparra, a former senior prosecutor and head of the Special District Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Ms Laparra was arrested on 23 February 2022 in the context of arbitrary persecution against former FECI prosecutors and members of the International Commission against Impunity (CICIG). The Award recognised her long-standing work combating corruption and organised crime in Guatemala, her dedicated commitment to upholding the rule of law, and the enormous personal sacrifice she endured during and after her prosecution and imprisonment in Guatemala. The award ceremony was held in February 2025 and was hosted by the President of the Alliance, Mr Dominic Grieve KC, who welcomed the Rt Hon Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former President of the UK Supreme Court, as the keynote speaker. The event was attended by more than 100 guests, including senior members of the UK judiciary and distinguished representatives from the British and international legal communities, who came together in London to recognise the extraordinary work of Ms Laparra. The Alliance also arranged and facilitated meetings between Ms Laparra and representatives of relevant NGOs during her time in London. ## _**(c) Meetings with other NGOs**_ In October 2025, the Alliance organised a roundtable meeting with a number of other charities and NGOs from the UK and abroad that share similar objectives, to explore ways in which the organisations could best support one another and strengthen collaboration. Over the course of the year, the Alliance also participated in several bilateral meetings with other NGOs to discuss concerns relating to specific lawyers and jurisdictions, and to consider potential actions in that regard. ## _**(d) Correspondence with the government officials and the media**_ Following the presentation of the Sir Henry Brooke Award, the Alliance wrote to government officials and media contacts in the UK and internationally to raise awareness of Ms Laparra’s situation. In 2025, the Alliance also wrote to the Chairman of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Internal Affairs in support of Belarusian lawyer Maksim Znak. Mr Znak has represented and provided legal assistance to a number of political figures, including Viktor Babaryko and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. He was arrested in September 2020 and subsequently sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, following a closed-door trial, the precise basis for which remains unclear. Mr. Znak has reportedly been detained incommunicado since February 2023, without access to his family members, legal counsel, or independent medical professionals, and with no clarity as to when he will be released. His sentencing and detention illustrate the serious challenges faced by lawyers practicing in Belarus. The Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. ## **5. Financial Review** The Alliance's income in this period was under £25,000. The Alliance received donations in this period. Its expenditure in this period comprised one personal grant paid to a human rights defender from a donation made for that specific purpose, costs of the Henry Brooke Award (travel) and bank charges for the operation of its current account. Other operating costs in this period (i.e., software) were paid by a trustee. The Alliance holds sufficient funds to cover its operational expenses (such as its website, bank charges, corporate office provider and payment processing services). It does not have any funds in deficit. ## **6. Charity Accounts** Section B Stalernent of assets and liabilities at the end of the period tstrid¢O JTr R*•trKted Jnd• EnthMm¢f*l hmds Tosw¢¥shlvndS 84 A•MlJ rat4th￿d lry O thiwIty• u Ktlffl"n Nthlls 2214126 ## **7. Trustee Declaration** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report. Signed on behalf of the Trustees:** **Full name:** Sir Peter Roth **Position:** Chair **Date:** 27 April 2026 **Signature: Full name:** Dominic Grieve KC, PC **Position:** President **Date:** 27 April 2026 **Signature:**