RES/19/31 Integrity of the judicial system

GE.12- 13101

Human Rights Council Nineteenth session

Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*

19/31

Integrity of the judicial system

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and bearing in mind the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,

Recalling other important documents on the issue of the integrity of the judiciary endorsed by various forums of the United Nations, in particular the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, as well as the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct,

Recalling also the resolutions on the subject of the Commission on Human Rights, in particular its resolution 2005/30 of 19 April 2005,

Recalling further Human Rights Council decision 2/110 of 27 November 2006 and Council resolution 17/2 of 16 June 2011,

Convinced that the integrity of the judicial system, together with its independence and impartiality, is an essential prerequisite for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, for upholding the rule of law and ensuring that there is no discrimination in the administration of justice,

Stressing that the integrity of the judiciary should be observed at all times,

* The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its nineteenth session (A/HRC/19/2), chap. I.

1. Takes note of the relevant sections of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers* and of the report submitted by the Special Rapporteur of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on the issue of the administration of justice through military tribunals;†

2. Reiterates that, as declared in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, every person is entitled, in full equality, to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal duly established by law, in the determination of his/her rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him/her, and that he/she is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty according to law;

3. Notes that, according to paragraph 5 of the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, everyone has the right to be tried by ordinary courts or tribunals using established legal procedures, and that tribunals that do not use duly established procedures of the legal process shall not be created to displace the jurisdiction belonging to the ordinary courts or judicial tribunals;

4. Underlines that any court trying a person charged with a criminal offence should be competent, independent and impartial;

5. Urges States to guarantee that all persons brought to trial before courts or tribunals under their authority have the right to be tried in their presence, to defend themselves in person or through legal assistance of their own choosing, and to have all the guarantees necessary for their legal defence;

6. Calls upon States to ensure that the principles of equality before the courts and before the law are respected within their judicial systems by, inter alia, providing to those being tried the possibility to examine, or to have examined, the witnesses against them and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on their behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against them;

7. Reaffirms that every convicted person should have the right to have his/her conviction and sentence reviewed by a tribunal of competent, independent and impartial jurisdiction according to law;

8. Calls upon States that have military courts or special tribunals for trying criminal offenders to ensure that such bodies are an integral part of the general judicial system and that such courts apply due process procedures that are recognized according to international law as guarantees of a fair trial, including the right to appeal a conviction and a sentence;

9. Stresses the importance of developing cooperation between national judicial systems with a view to, inter alia, strengthening the protection of persons deprived of their liberty;

10. Invites the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to take full account of the present resolution in the discharge of her mandate and in her report to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-third session.

* A/HRC/11/41 and A/HRC/14/26. † E/CN.4/2006/58.

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

55th meeting

23 March 2012

[Adopted without a vote.]