Legislative safeguards for the independence of courts and judges
Expert review of laws to assess whether the legislative framework for the judiciary meets international standards. Principles and requirements regarding the status of the judiciary have been derived from the following documents:
• Montreal Universal Declaration on the Independence of Justice (First World Conference on the Independence of Justice, 1983);
• Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary (adopted by the seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1985 and endorsed by General Assembly resolutions Nos. 40/32 of 29 November 1985 and 40/146 of 13 December 1985);
• Recommendation (94) 12 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the Independence, Efficiency and Role of Judges (adopted by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on 13 October 1994).
Points are awarded for each of the following nine criteria, with a possible 2 points for the first criterion and one point for each criterion thereafter (total of 10 points).
Criteria fulfilled: 9/9
Yes
No
No data available / not assessed
| The independence of courts and judges is enshrined in the constitution (2 points) | |
| Individual judges are free to decide on matters before them impartially (1 point) | |
| Neither the government nor any administrative body may take any decision which invalidates judicial decisions retroactively (judicial decisions are final) (1 point) | |
| The authority making decisions on the selection and career of judges is independent of the executive (1 point) | |
| The promotion of judges is based on transparent criteria (1 point) | |
| Judges have guaranteed tenure until a mandatory retirement age or the expiry of their term of office (1 point) | |
| The assignment of cases to judges within the court is an internal matter of judicial administration, not influenced by the executive (1 point) | |
| Decisions in disciplinary, suspension or removal proceedings are made by an independent body predominantly composed of members of the judiciary (1 point) | |
| Judges enjoy immunity from suit or harassment for acts and omissions in their official capacity (1 point) |