A/HRC/35/31 I. Introduction 1. The present report is the first submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, since his appointment in December 2016 pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 26/7. In his report, the Special Rapporteur establishes the main issues he will prioritize during his tenure. It consists of three parts. The first section provides an overview of the mandate and its methods of work with States, civil society, United Nations bodies and relevant stakeholders. The second part provides a summary of the thematic work of previous Special Rapporteurs. The third part identifies some issues of specific concern that the Special Rapporteur will take into account during his mandate, particularly issues related to corruption and organized crime, among others. 2. The Human Rights Council, aware of the connection between human rights and the independence of judges and lawyers, has repeatedly underlined the importance of an independent judiciary. In resolution 29/6, the Council reiterated the conviction that an independent and impartial judiciary, an independent legal profession, an objective and impartial prosecution able to perform its functions accordingly and the integrity of the judicial system are essential prerequisites for the protection of human rights and the application of the rule of law and for ensuring fair trials and the administration of justice without any discrimination. 3. The Human Rights Council has repeatedly requested the Secretary-General, within the limits of the regular budget of the Organization, to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the necessary human and financial resources for the effective fulfillment of his or her mandate.1 4. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Human Rights Clinic of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre of the University of Ottawa for its outstanding support in the research for and drafting of the present report. II. Perspectives on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers 5. The Special Rapporteur would like to acknowledge the outstanding work done by his predecessors in this position, Mónica Pinto, Gabriela Knaul, Leandro Despouy and Param Cumaraswamy. 6. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers has been gradually built over the years thanks to the interpretation of its scope and content, enshrined most recently in Human Rights Council resolution 29/6. As the Special Rapporteur stated in 2016, each Special Rapporteur, in his or her own field of action, has helped through the periodic thematic reports to clarify and consolidate the requirements necessary to achieve and maintain the independence and impartiality of the justice system. 7. The present Special Rapporteur intends to perform his task taking into consideration the valuable work of his predecessors while addressing specific topics of current relevance. For example, during the course of his tenure the Special Rapporteur would like to focus his attention on the impact of corruption, organized crime and other transnational threats on the judiciary. The Special Rapporteur will elaborate on this issue in his future thematic reports. 8. Upon review of the approach of previous mandate holders on the issue of corruption (see, for instance, E/CN.4/2002/72/Add.1, A/HRC/4/25, A/HRC/11/41, A/64/181, A/65/274, A/HRC/20/19, A/67/305, A/HRC/23/43 and Corr.1 and A/70/263), the Special Rapporteur is of the view that the impact of corruption and organized crime on the judiciary needs to be considered in further detail. During his term in office, the Special Rapporteur will work closely with States, United Nations agencies and bodies, national human rights 1 See, for instance Council resolution 26/7. 3