For information only - not an official document
UNIS/CP/1059
17 October 2018
MARRAKECH/VIENNA, 17 October (UN Information Service) - Strong, independent, and well-resourced judiciaries which live up to the highest standards of integrity are an indispensable basis of the rule of law. Unfortunately, judiciaries in some countries struggle to maintain the people's trust, are subject to political interference, and fail to effectively tackle public perception of corruption in the justice system.
Within this context, the Judicial Integrity component of the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, under the guidance of the Global Judicial Integrity Network, has embarked on the development of a new generation of judicial ethics training tools. These aim to equip judges with the necessary knowledge and practical skills to identify and resolve ethical dilemmas confronting them in their daily practice.
The training tools provide newly appointed and serving members of the judiciary with a solid understanding of two cornerstones of judicial integrity: the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, and the requirements of Article 11 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
The training package comprises a number of items: three online modules dealing with various aspects of judicial conduct and ethics; a self-directed course, which will be provided in printable form for offline use; and a Trainers' Manual for more in-depth face-to-face training activities. These resources are in English and will be complemented by translations into several languages by December 2018 (Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish).
Oliver Stolpe, Senior Programme Officer at UNODC, who launched the tools at this week's 61st annual meeting of the International Association of Judges in Marrakech, stated: "This course is unique and the first of its kind, providing a comprehensive induction to judges on the key ethical principles, and their practical relevance and application in their day-to-day conduct in and out of court."
The launch of these tools follows a train-the-trainers workshop which was held earlier this month in Vienna, in partnership with the Judicial College of England and Wales. The second of its kind, the workshop was based on the final version of UNODC's judicial integrity Trainers' Manual, gathering judges and judicial professionals from more than 20 pilot countries which have agreed to test the tools and roll them out at national and regional levels.
More information about UNODC's Judicial Integrity component is available online at https://www.unodc.org/ji/ .
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For further media enquiries please contact:
Kevin
Town
Public Information Officer, UNODC
Telephone: +43 699 1459 5575
Email: kevin.town[at]un.org
