Senior judges explain withdrawal from conference after Assange appearance

Mr Assange, who has lived in the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012, addressed attendees at the Commonwealth Law Conference on the issue of surveillance and security.

As a result, some senior members of the judiciary including Lord Gill, Lord Neuberger and Lord Thomas withdrew from the event.

In the case of some judges this was after they had actually arrived in Glasgow.

SLN reported on Tuesday that Mr Assange would be speaking at the conference.

A spokesperson for the Judicial Office for Scotland said: “The conference programme was changed to include Mr Assange’s participation at short notice and without consultation.

“Mr Assange is, as a matter of law, currently a fugitive from justice and it would therefore not be appropriate for judges to be addressed by him.

“Under these circumstances the Lord President, Lord Gill and the other Scottish judicial office holders in attendance have withdrawn from the conference.”

A spokesman for the UK Supreme Court added: “Lord Neuberger and Lord Hodge share the concerns expressed by Lord Gill and his fellow senior Scottish judges regarding the late addition of Mr Assange to the conference programme.

“As a result of this unfortunate development, they trust that delegates will understand their decision to withdraw from the conference.

“The justices took this action regretfully, as they value greatly the work of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the role of the conference as an important forum for sharing experiences and good practice across the legal profession.”

A spokesman for judiciary of England and Wales said: “The lord chief justice shares the concerns expressed by Lord Gill and Lord Neuberger in relation to the late change to the conference programme.

“He agreed with the position taken by both, and the judges of England and Wales also withdrew from the conference.

“The lord chief justice and the judiciary continue to express their strong commitment to the rule of law across the Commonwealth, and internationally.”

However, over 20 judges from the Commonwealth attended Mr Assange’s session in which he discussed protected communications between lawyers and clients.