Independence and Impartiality of the Judiciary, Jurors and Assessors, and the Independence of Lawyers Participation of Women in the Administration of Justice

A/HRC/RES/50/5View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2022.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Administration of Justice Gender Equality Human Rights Judicial Independence Judicial System Lawyers Women

What’s in this document?

29 operative paragraphs

Calls upon all States to guarantee the independence of judges and lawyers and the objectivity and impartiality of prosecutors, and their ability to perform their functions accordingly, including by taking effective legislative, law enforcement and other appropriate measures that will enable them to carry out their professional functions without interference, harassment, threats or intimidation of any kind;

Encourages States to promote diversity in the composition of the members of the judiciary, including by taking into account a gender perspective and by actively promoting the balanced representation of women and men from various segments of society at all levels, and of persons belonging to minorities and other disadvantaged groups, and to ensure that the requirements for joining the judiciary and the selection process thereof are non-discriminatory, public and transparent, and based on objective criteria, and guarantee the appointment of individuals of integrity and ability with appropriate training and qualifications in law based on individual merit and under equal working conditions;

Calls upon States to promote the full, equal and meaningful participation and representation of all women, as well as equality in access to positions at all levels of the administration of justice, and encourages States to adopt substantive and procedural standards to make progress towards achieving gender balance and to ensure women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in public decision-making roles in the judicial system, including the judiciary and prosecution services;

Urges States to take substantive measures to eliminate explicit regulatory obstacles, institutional, structural and cultural barriers, gender stereotypes, and sexual and gender-based violence that lead to the underrepresentation of women in public decision-making positions in the judicial system or confinement to certain areas and levels of the judicial system, and to ensure that objective, a priori criteria used in selection and promotion processes in the judiciary and the prosecution service do not become barriers that contribute to marginalizing women’s equal participation, particularly in leadership positions;

Stresses that the term of office of judges, their independence, security, adequate remuneration, conditions of service, pensions and age of retirement should be adequately secured by law, that the security of tenure of judges is an essential guarantee of the independence of the judiciary and that grounds for their removal must be explicit, with well-defined circumstances provided for by law, involving reasons of incapacity or behaviour that renders them unfit to discharge their functions, and that procedures upon which the discipline, suspension or removal of a judge are based should comply with due process;

Encourages States to develop, as appropriate, policies, procedures and programmes in the area of restorative justice as part of a comprehensive justice system;

Also encourages States to consider, in collaboration with relevant national entities such as bar associations, associations of judges and prosecutors, and educational institutions assisting the judiciary developing guidance on issues such as gender, children, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and migrants, among others, to inform the action of judges, lawyers, prosecutors and other actors in the judicial system;

Underscores that lawyers must not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their function;

Emphasizes that lawyers should be enabled to discharge their functions freely, independently and without any fear of reprisal;

Calls upon States to ensure that prosecutors can perform their functional activities in an independent, objective and impartial manner;

Condemns all acts of violence, intimidation or reprisal, from any quarter and for any reason, against judges, prosecutors and lawyers, and reminds States of their duty to uphold the integrity of judges, prosecutors and lawyers and to protect them, and their families and professional associates, against all forms of violence, threat, retaliation, intimidation and harassment, whether from State authorities or non-State actors, resulting from the discharging of their functions, and to condemn such acts and to bring perpetrators to justice;

Expresses its deep concern at the significant number of attacks against lawyers and instances of arbitrary or unlawful interference with or restrictions to the free practice of their profession, and calls upon States to ensure that any attacks or interference of any sort against lawyers are promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated and that perpetrators are held accountable;

Calls upon States, in collaboration with relevant national entities such as bar associations, associations of judges and prosecutors, and educational institutions, to provide adequate training, including human rights training, for judges, prosecutors and lawyers, both on initial appointment and periodically throughout their careers, taking into account regional and international human rights law and, where applicable and relevant, the concluding observations and decisions of human rights mechanisms, such as the treaty bodies and regional human rights courts;

Encourages States to take measures to combat discrimination in the administration of justice by, inter alia, providing for tailored and interdisciplinary human rights training, including anti-racist, multicultural, gender-responsive and child rights training, to all judges, lawyers and prosecutors;

Underscores the importance for States of developing and implementing an effective and sustainable legal aid system that is consistent with their international human rights obligations and takes into account relevant commitments and good practices so that legal aid is available and accessible at all stages of legal proceedings, subject to appropriate eligibility criteria;

Encourages States to take appropriate measures to ensure that women have meaningful access to legal aid and assistance through gender-, age- and disability-responsive means, including by conducting information and awareness-raising programmes for women about the existence of legal aid and public defence services;

Urges all Governments to cooperate with and to assist the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in the performance of his or her tasks, to provide all information requested and to respond to communications transmitted to them by the Special Rapporteur without undue delay;

Invites States to take measures, including by adopting domestic legislation, to provide for independent and self-governing professional associations of lawyers and to recognize the vital role played by lawyers in upholding the rule of law and promoting and protecting human rights;

Calls upon States to ensure that legal provisions that are to be or have been adopted in relation to counter-terrorism or national security are consistent with the international obligations of the State concerning the right to a fair trial, the right to liberty and the right to an effective remedy for violations of human rights and other provisions of international law relevant to the role of judges, prosecutors and lawyers;

Urges States to ensure that judiciaries have the necessary resources and capacity to help to maintain functionality, accountability, transparency and integrity, and to ensure due process and the continuity of judicial activities, including efficient access to justice consistent with the right to a fair trial and other fundamental rights and freedoms, during extraordinary situations, including the COVID-19 pandemic and other crisis situations;

Encourages States to make available to judiciaries current information and communications technology and innovative online solutions, enabling digital connectivity, to help to ensure access to justice and respect for the right to a fair trial and other procedural rights, including in extraordinary situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other crisis situations, with special attention to closing digital divides, including the gender digital divide, reducing inequalities and promoting women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the administration of justice, and to ensure that judicial and any other relevant national authorities are able to elaborate the necessary procedural framework and technical solutions to this end;

Invites the Special Rapporteur to collaborate with relevant stakeholders within the United Nations system in the areas pertaining to the mandate;

Calls upon Governments to give serious consideration to responding favourably to the requests of the Special Rapporteur to visit their country, and urges States to enter into a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur with respect to follow-up to and the implementation of his or her recommendations to enable him or her to fulfil the mandate even more effectively;

Encourages the Special Rapporteur to facilitate the provision of technical assistance and capacity-building and the dissemination of guidelines and best practices, including through engagement with relevant stakeholders and in consultation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, when requested by the State concerned, with a view to establishing and strengthening the rule of law, paying particular attention to the administration of justice and the role of an independent and competent judiciary and legal profession;

Encourages Governments that face difficulties in guaranteeing the independence of judges and lawyers, the objectivity and impartiality of prosecutors and their ability to perform their functions accordingly, or that are determined to take measures to implement these principles further, to consult and to consider the services of the Special Rapporteur, for instance, by inviting the mandate holder to visit their country;

Encourages Governments to give due consideration to recommendations made by United Nations human rights mechanisms, and to implement recommendations supported under the universal periodic review process, addressing the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary and their effective implementation, and invites the international community, regional organizations and the United Nations system to support any implementation efforts;

Invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to continue their activities in the areas of the administration of justice and the rule of law, including at the country level at the request of the State, encourages States to reflect such activities in their national capacity-building plans, and emphasizes that institutions concerned with the administration of justice should be properly funded;

Encourages States to ensure that their legal frameworks, implementing regulations and judicial manuals are fully in line with their international obligations and take into account relevant commitments in the areas of the administration of justice and the rule of law;

Decides to continue consideration of this issue in accordance with its annual programme of work.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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