In order to fight judicial corruption, the Assembly invites
member States to, in particular:
6.1 sign
and ratify, if they have not yet done so, the relevant conventions
of the Council of Europe, namely the Civil Law Convention on Corruption
(ETS No. 174) and the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS
No. 173) and its Additional Protocol (ETS No. 191);
6.2 implement fully and in a timely manner all relevant recommendations
of the organs and monitoring bodies of the Council of Europe, especially:
6.2.2 the recommendations issued by the Committee of Ministers,
in particular Recommendation No. R (2000) 10 on codes of conduct
for public officials and Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 on judges:
independence, efficiency and responsibilities;
6.2.3 the recommendations adopted by the Group of States against
Corruption (GRECO), in particular those emanating from its fourth
evaluation round which focuses, inter
alia, on corruption within the judiciary;
6.2.4 the recommendations contained in the opinions on national
legislation issued by the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission);
6.2.5 the guidelines and reports adopted by the European Commission
for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) in its work on the evaluation
of judicial systems;
6.2.6 the recommendations issued by the Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights with regard to the administration of justice, the
functioning of judicial systems and the prevention of corrupt practices
within the judiciary;
6.3 give full effect to the judgments of the European Court
of Human Rights, especially those which impact on the prevention
and eradication of judicial corruption;
6.4 align their national legislation and practice with the
standards developed in the relevant international instruments and
monitoring bodies, especially with regard to the criminalisation
of corruption, immunities of judges, organisation of disciplinary
bodies, conflicts of interest, declaration of assets and aspects
related to a judge’s career (recruitment, promotion, dismissal);
6.5 strengthen legislation to sanction corruption and provide
all necessary means and support for its proper implementation by
effectively investigating and prosecuting those responsible for
corruption in the judiciary;
6.6 adapt legislation and practice so as to allow an appropriate
assessment of corrupt practices within the judiciary that are particularly
difficult to decipher, such as those related to exchange of favours, hierarchical
pressure or external interference;
6.7 improve the status of the judicial profession as well
as the selection and training of judges, so as to ensure ethical
behaviour of judges, and strictly scrutinise any practices related
to a judge’s career which pose a risk of corruption or affect the
independence and impartiality of judges throughout their careers;
6.8 put into place appropriate procedures to eradicate political
interference and undue influence in the judicial process;
6.9 keep track of, and follow up on, the implementation of
anti-corruption measures by making available data pertaining to
the number and nature of alleged and proven cases of judicial corruption,
in order to make a proper assessment of the phenomenon;
6.10 where perception of the existence of widespread judicial
corruption persists, take all necessary measures to restore public
trust in the judicial system; monitor closely and consistently the
evolution of perception indicators and develop a viable strategy
to remedy the lack of public trust in the judiciary;
6.11 continue to collaborate closely with the Council of Europe
monitoring bodies, especially GRECO, and provide them with all the
information needed for their work, and engage actively in redressing
the shortcomings identified;
6.12 guarantee an environment in which cases of (alleged) judicial
corruption can be uncovered, so as to foster a climate in which
the root causes of judicial corruption can be eradicated.
