Article 11 of the UN Convention against Corruption calls on countries to strengthen integrity and prevent opportunities for corruption in judiciaries, and the internationally recognized Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct are in place. While many countries have embarked on numerous reforms and set encouraging examples, the problem persists and more should be done to strengthen judicial integrity.
The 2018 Rule of Law index of the World Justice Project suggests that judges and judicial officials soliciting and accepting bribes remains a serious concern in more than half of the 113 countries covered. All efforts to achieve not only Goal 16 but eventually to realize the entire 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda hinge directly or indirectly on our ability to establish the rule of law both at domestic and the international level. This cannot be achieved unless we identify effective remedies for judicial corruption and successfully multiply them across all jurisdictions.
The workshop will seek to get to the bottom of why more than 60% of citizens worldwide believe that corruption and political interference continue to undermine the justice system (Rule of Law Index, World Justice Project).
Against this backdrop, the workshop will explore the secrets of success and good examples in the area of strengthening judicial integrity. Using an interactive circle, the moderator will, through targeted and thought-provoking questions, seek ideas from expert participants and the audience.
Apart from providing a space to discuss local efforts, reforms, successes and challenges in the area of judicial integrity and prevention of corruption in judiciaries, the workshop will discuss how the freshly launched
Global Judicial Integrity Network provides opportunities for different stakeholders to be engaged in enhancing independence, impartiality, accountability, transparency and integrity in the judiciary.
The Global Judicial Integrity Network, and by extension the workshop, will seek to contribute to this effort and solicit the active engagement and contribution of civil society and academia in the process. The workshop is a unique opportunity to ask diverse participants about their views on how national and international efforts can be strengthened and how to best use the Network as a platform for cooperation.
More information about the Global Judicial Integrity Network is available at:
www.unodc.org/ji.
Session Rapporteur:
Roberta Solis
