A/HRC/38/38 Council of the Judiciary (Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature) was established in France in 1883; it became an autonomous constitutional organ in 1946, but only a minority of its members (4 out of 12) were magistrates elected directly by their peers. Several other Western European countries followed suit in establishing oversight councils seeking to ensure judicial independence. In 1948, the High Council of the Judiciary of Italy became the first judicial council to fully insulate the judiciary from any external interference. 12. There is no one-size-fits-all model of judicial council. Each judicial governing body originates from a legal system with distinct historical, cultural and social roots. Nevertheless, all councils must be governed by the same general principles of the independence of the judiciary and division of powers between branches of Government. 13. Countries have followed two main trends in creating judicial councils, depending on whether their responsibilities are primarily focused on judicial careers or management of court operations. In 1999, a study on different judicial councils in the European Union distinguished between a southern European model, in which the body was constitutionally rooted and only fulfilled primary functions in safeguarding judicial independence (for instance, with regard to the appointment of, and disciplinary proceedings against, judges), and a northern European model, in which the council had far-reaching powers in the area of administration, court management and budgeting. 1 While countries in Western Europe follow this distinction fairly closely, other countries around the world have tended to borrow aspects from both models. The array of powers and responsibilities granted to a judicial council has become highly country specific and often constitutes variations of these two models.2 14. In recent decades, the number of judicial councils has increased greatly in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, and it is estimated that, to date, over 70 per cent of the countries in the world have some form of judicial council. However, this is an area lacking in statistical data at the global level, making it challenging to assess global trends. 15. All judicial councils share common experiences and challenges and are governed by the same general principles. As key judicial bodies, judicial councils are supposed to play a pivotal role in ensuring judicial independence. They are supposed to function as intermediaries between Government and the judiciary, and operate autonomously within the judicial systems of their respective jurisdictions to guarantee, inter alia, the maintenance of the rule of law and the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. 16. Each judicial governing body has a specific role that varies from one country to the next, in accordance with the specific problems that each establishment is supposed to address. In some countries, the main challenge is to counter executive, legislative or political party domination of the judiciary; in others, the main function of the judicial council is to limit the oversight function of the Supreme Court, which is perceived to have excessive control over lower court judges. In another group of countries, judicial councils are established to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the judiciary by transferring the management of administrative matters from the judiciary to a body that is independent from the court system.3 17. Since the establishment of the mandate, several Special Rapporteurs have highlighted the crucial role that judicial councils play in guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary, and recommended that member States consider establishing an independent body in charge of the selection and discipline of judges, and adopt appropriate measures to 1 2 3 4 W. Voermans and Pim Albers, Councils for the Judiciary in EU Countries, European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (Strasbourg, Council of Europe, 2003), p. 12. Violaine Autheman and Sandra Elena, Global Best Practices: Judicial Councils — Lessons Learned from Europe and Latin America, Rule of Law White Paper Series, No. 2 (Arlington, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, April 2004), pp. 5–6. United States Agency for International Development, Office of Democracy and Governance, Guidance for Promoting Judicial Independence and Impartiality — Revised Edition (Washington, D.C., January 2002), p. 16.