Honorary award for lawyer Wolfgang Kaleck

in special recognition of his legal work for the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)

Together with internationally active lawyers, Wolfgang Kaleck founded ECCHR in Berlin in 2007 and has been its Secretary General ever since. As an independent organisation, ECCHR initiates, conducts and supports a large number of legal proceedings against state and non-state actors for international crimes together with lawyers and organisations worldwide. In the area of business and human rights, ECCHR uses a variety of legal means, including to take action against inhumane labour conditions and their consequences. Before founding ECCHR, the criminal law specialist had been working as a criminal defence lawyer at the law firm „Hummel.Kaleck.Rechtsanwälte“ since 1991. Since 1998, he has also worked in the Coalition Against Impunity to ensure that those responsible for the murder and so-called disappearances of Germans during the Argentinian military dictatorship are brought to justice. Together with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York, Kaleck pursued criminal proceedings against the US torture programme from 2004 to 2008, including against former US Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld. As a lawyer, Kaleck has represented the whistleblower Edward Snowden in his matters in Germany since 2014 and coordinates Snowden's legal team in Europe. In addition to his work as a lawyer, Kaleck is also active as a publicist.
The laudatory speech was held by the writer Kathrin Röggla.
The award ceremony took place on 19 June 2017 at the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue.

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