A/HRC/35/31 courts, including the rights to judicial protection and fair trial, due process and independence of the judiciary. 22. The Special Rapporteur will come back to the issue of setting up a clear agenda for the effective implementation of international instruments related to the independence of the justice system, including via the application of international law and jurisprudence in domestic courts, in future report. B. Overview of the thematic work accomplished since the establishment of the mandate 23. The issues and situations addressed by the successive mandate holders were complex and often interrelated, each with its own importance if the justice system is to fulfil its role in the protection of human rights in an independent, impartial and fair manner. In the section below, the Special Rapporteur provides a review of this wealth of work, with a view to taking stock of achievements and identifying questions, problems and challenges which should frame his work, and on which he intends to focus his efforts. 1. Judicial independence 24. Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects judicial independence. This is an obligation to be guaranteed and not a privilege that States may grant. The Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary deal with the following subjects: (a) independence of the judiciary; (b) freedom of expression and association; (c) qualifications, selection and training; (d) conditions of service and tenure; (e) professional secrecy and immunity; and (f) discipline, suspension and removal. 25. The United Nations system has highlighted the importance of integrity and independence of the justice sector in many resolutions, 3 as well as of the fight against corruption. Building on these efforts, in 1997 the Special Rapporteur noted that attacks on the independence of judges and lawyers were not confined to developing countries. Therefore, he underscored the universality of the threat to the independence of judges and lawyers and the need for constant international vigilance (see E/CN.4/1997/32, para. 190). 26. In 2004, after having reviewed the work of his predecessor, the Special Rapporteur noted that the independence of judges and lawyers was at risk throughout the world, although to varying degrees and for reasons or in forms that are sometimes quite different (E/CN.4/2004/60, p. 11). Requirements and conditions of judicial independence 27. In his first report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur noted that, with regard to some issues, reiteration might be necessary in relation to the principle of the separation of powers, which is the bedrock upon which the requirements of judicial independence and impartiality are founded (see E/CN.4/1995/39, para. 55). 28. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur is not limited to defending individuals engaged in a judicial activity, but includes looking into the individual attributes and institutional conditions necessary to an independent and impartial justice for the benefit of the consumers of justice rather than a privilege of the judiciary for its own sake (see E/CN.4/2004/60, para. 27). 29. The Special Rapporteur has reiterated the misconception or misunderstanding often prevailing around the function of judicial review, or its equivalent, of the constitutionality or legality of executive decisions, administrative orders and legislative acts. The process of judicial review serves to check executive and legislative excesses by upholding the rule of law, noting that in principle this is not a matter of substitution of functions (see E/CN.4/1995/39, para. 56). 3 6 See, for instance, paragraph 15 of resolution 5/4 and paragraph 5 of resolution 6/6 of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.