A/HRC/4/3 page 19 − The Supreme Council of Justice will be the keystone of the judiciary’s independence in that it will become the sole guarantor of respect for the laws that will henceforth govern magistrates’ performance and the renewal of their mandates, and disciplinary action against them. It should be noted that its competence extends to prosecutors, who are excluded from the text put forward by the Transitional Government; − The Council’s composition will be limited to representatives of the legal profession and civil society, to the exclusion of persons involved in politics. 66. Among the issues that gave rise to debates, the independent expert wishes to draw attention to a number of points. 67. The designation “Supreme Council of the Judiciary” used by the Transitional Government had the advantage of being a neutral term with international connotations; it also made it possible to include, in the long term, guarantees for all the State’s judicial personnel, including registrars. At the same time, lawyers, who are understandably eager to retain their autonomy, will continue to enjoy their current guarantees, which are based on the institution of the Bar Association. It is therefore questionable whether there was any need to return to the idea of the Supreme Council of Justice. We think not, for both these reasons, but that is not the main point. 68. More important is the apparently technical question of the status of the financial and administrative management of the judiciary. Some consider that, in order to be effective, the independence of the judiciary calls for a guarantee of its entire financial and administrative independence. The Minister of Justice has finally taken this demand partly into account but has limited the budgetary autonomy of the courts and Council to operational funds, which the independent expert considers to be legitimate insofar as major investments (especially in property) require national planning. 69. For his part, the independent expert has reservations concerning the implementation of such autonomy until a credible “judicial services inspectorate” has been established to avoid or limit the risks posed by autonomous management. 70. To sum up on this point, the independent expert is generally in favour of the most recent draft reform of the Council, especially insofar as it conforms to what he had advocated in his previous reports. The text, which has not yet been submitted to Parliament, will most likely be considered by the Council of Ministers for adoption in January or February 2007. The independent expert insists that the text be adopted without delay in order to avoid renewed lobbying by circles that do not want the judiciary to have substantial guarantees of independence. The debates in Parliament will be interesting, since they will reveal whether the political class - which is quick to criticize judges - is truly willing to give Haiti a judiciary worthy of a constitutional State.