A/HRC/35/31 humanitarian law and international law on refugees, international criminal law and the principles of national and international professional ethics. C. Specific issues of concern 69. The current mandate holder has identified four broad areas of concern related to his mandate: judicial independence; corruption, organized crime and the independence of judges and lawyers; protection of the legal profession; and restrictions to the right to a fair trial and due process of law. 1. Guaranteeing judicial independence Interference in, pressures on and threats against the judiciary 70. The independence of the judiciary is linked to the lack of interference in, pressures on and threats against the judiciary. To ensure the independence of the judicial system, judges, lawyers and prosecutors must be free of any interference, pressure or threat that might affect the impartiality of their judgments and decisions. Otherwise, the independence of the judicial system would be seriously jeopardized, as its practitioners would not be able to fulfil their tasks in an objective and independent manner. 71. Principles 2 and 4 of the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary mention the requirement of non-interference in order to guarantee the independence of the judiciary. Such lack of interference implies that no authority, private group or individual may interfere in judicial decisions; they must respect and abide by the decisions of the judiciary. Judges shall decide matters presented before them not only impartially and in accordance with the law, but without threats or interference. The decision-making process can be assured only if there is no inappropriate or unwarranted interference with the judicial process. 72. The Special Rapporteur would like to stress the importance of protecting the judiciary and the legal professions from interference and pressures in order to protect human rights. As stated by Louis Joinet in 1993, fundamental freedoms are all the better safeguarded to the extent that the judiciary and the legal professions are protected from interference and pressure (see E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/25, para. 1). Role of the media 73. Freedom of the press constitutes an essential element of freedom of expression, and is enshrined in many international instruments and national constitutions. A free and independent press fosters a better-informed society with the capacity to constructively question government authority, thereby preventing abuses of power. According to the Madrid Principles on the Relationship between the Media and Judicial Independence, both the media and the judiciary have a shared responsibility to guarantee freedom of the media and independence of the judiciary. The judicial system, for its part, has to guarantee the existence of a free and independent media. On the other hand, the media have an obligation to respect the rights of individuals, protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the independence of the judiciary. 74. From the outset, the Special Rapporteur has relayed increasing concerns about the complex relationships between the media and the judiciary. For instance, the Special Rapporteur worried about the critical issue of how extensive media coverage could affect a fair and impartial trial, an issue that may be even more relevant with the advent of the Internet and social media. He stressed that a fine balance had to be struck between the right of the “consumers” of justice to a fair and impartial trial and the equally important right to freedom of expression and the corresponding right to information (see E/CN.4/1996/37, paras. 83-85). 12