Raad van Europa publiceert standpunt over Raad voor de rechterlijke macht t.b.v. de samenleving (en)

Press release - 832(2007)

Council of Europe publishes opinion on the Council for the judiciary in the service of society

Strasbourg, 23.11.2007 - The Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), the Council of Europe's advisory body on issues relating to the independence, impartiality and competence of judges, has just adopted an opinion on "the Council for the judiciary in the service of society".

As an independent and impartial judiciary is a fundamental requirement of the rule of law in a democratic society, the independence and impartiality of judges need to be guaranteed by a specific body, a council for the judiciary, in line with the principle of the separation of powers.

If councils for the judiciary are themselves to be independent and carry out their functions properly, they have to be made up mostly of judges elected by their peers and exclude any members of parliament, the executive or the civil service.

Councils for the judiciary must have broad competence for all the tasks involved in protecting and promoting judicial independence and the efficiency of the judicial institution.

Since Councils for the judiciary would be expected to play a major role in managing the judicial corps, their actions would have to be transparent, which would be crucial to citizens' confidence in the functioning of justice.

For more information, see www.coe.int/legalcooperation .

Council of Europe Press Division

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