A/HRC/10/59 page 17 60. The Government has cooperated with the International Criminal Court on a number of cases. However, operating on their own without international involvement, Congolese authorities often prove reluctant to investigate and prosecute military, law enforcement and intelligence personnel who perpetrate or bear command responsibility for serious human rights violations.26 61. Political interference at all stages of the criminal process is very common. There have also been numerous incidents, especially in the east of the DRC, in which military and civilian judges and prosecutors were threatened and attacked by armed group members and sometimes even members of the armed force to intimidate them, disrupt criminal proceedings and ensure impunity. Extremely low salaries in the justice, law enforcement and penitentiary sectors also provide numerous entry points for corruption at all levels. The special procedures welcome that the President of the Republic, in his second address on the state of the nation of 14 December 2008 acknowledged the problem of interference in the judicial process and emphasized that such interference must not happen and violators will be pursued. 62. The impunity problem is also rooted in the capacity of the justice system. Deprived of an adequate budget, the justice system remains in a deplorable state and lacks the capacity to handle its caseload. The access of the population to justice is extremely limited, not only because of high rates of poverty, but also by the utterly insufficient number of judges, magistrates and tribunals and their lack of geographic coverage in the East and remote areas generally. In January 2008, the Ministry of Justice put forward a Plan of Action for Justice Reform in the DRC, focusing among other things on recruitment, training and infrastructure. The tenets of the Plan still needed to be approved by the Mixed Committee on Justice Reform Follow-up when this report was finalized. 63. The disastrous state of the prison system, perhaps the weakest link in the justice chain, facilitates escapes of suspects and convicts, including high profile offenders who sometimes “escape” with the connivance of the authorities. For this reason, but also in light of the generally appalling prison conditions, characterized by serious overcrowding, a lack of basic health care, and starvation due to the virtual absence of a budget to provide to detainees without family support, penitentiary reform is an absolute necessity.27 The implementation of a new Strategic Plan on Prison Reform and Training, developed by the Ministry of Justice and MONUC, should therefore be a priority for the Government and its technical assistance partners.28 64. The new Constitution, in force since 18 February 2006, sets out a good foundation to reform the justice sector and establish the rule of law. In August 2008, the President signed a law creating the Higher Judicial Council, which is a very important step forward. It is crucial that this new Higher Judicial Council be actively involved in the judicial reform process and that it is 26 There are exceptions. In Goma, for instance, FARDC set up an ad hoc Operational Military Court in November 2008. Based on quick trials with uncertain due process guarantees, the Court had convicted 18 soldiers, 4 of whom received death sentences, when this report was finalized. 27 See A/HRC/7/6/Add.4, paras. 80-85, and A/HRC/4/7, para. 37. 28 S/2008/728, para. 38.