Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers

Individual Complaints

The Special Rapporteur acts on information submitted to his attention regarding alleged violations regarding the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and the independence of the legal profession by sending allegation letters and urgent appeals to concerned Governments to clarify and/or bring to their attention these cases.

Allegation Letters

Where the information received by the Special Rapporteur is prima facie credible, the Special Rapporteur will transmit the allegation, usually by letter, to the concerned Government in order to obtain the Government's response.

The credibility of the source of the allegations will be established by the Special Rapporteur by reference to: the degree of detail presented by the alleged victim about him or herself and the event or interference alleged; corroborative sources; logic; the laws in force in the concerned State.

Urgent Appeals

In rare cases of particularly grave allegations of violations, for example, threats to the life of the alleged victim, the Special Rapporteur will send an urgent appeal to the concerned Government. This method will follow the procedures established for other thematic mechanisms.

Whether addressed through a letter or through a cable issued as an urgent appeal, the Government concerned will be expected to respond expeditiously to the Special Rapporteur's request for information or explanation. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur draws attention to Commission resolution 1993/47, in which Governments are encouraged to so respond.

Please note, that as a general rule, both urgent appeals and letters of allegation remain confidential until published in the annual report of the Special Rapporteur to the Commission on Human Rights. A summary of such communications and the replies received from the concerned State are formally included in the Special Rapporteur's annual report to the Commission.

- Contact