A/HRC/26/32 meted out to two magistrates.6 The two were among a number of magistrates who had been suspended, dismissed or forced to retire. Some magistrates affected by that measure were subsequently reinstated by virtue of an amnesty, while many others, including the two magistrates mentioned above, were not. 63. The Special Rapporteur believes that individual accountability should be applied to all judges, including magistrates of the highest courts. In a 2013 mission report, she recommended that supreme court magistrates be removed from office only for specific causes previously established by law. Legislation should explicitly indicate the grounds on which magistrates can be dismissed (A/HRC/23/43/Add.1, para. 74). Prosecutors 64. Prosecutors play a crucial role in the administration of justice and must, therefore, be able to “perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, improper interference or unjustified exposure to civil, penal or other liability”.7 Prosecutors are also essential for upholding the rule of law and ensuring that the law applies equally to everyone, as they have a duty to “give due attention to the prosecution of crimes committed by public officials, particularly corruption, abuse of power, grave violations of human rights and other crimes recognized by international law”.8 65. In a previous report, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that the autonomy of prosecutors should not exist to the detriment of accountability (A/HRC/20/19, para. 82). Prosecutors can be held accountable through the submission of public reports by the Prosecutor General, the implementation of public audits for financial or organizational issues, the submission of prosecutorial activities to judicial scrutiny, the establishment of a prosecutorial council or similar independent body, monitoring by the executive or parliamentary accountability (para. 84). Lawyers 66. Lawyers are also indispensable for the protection and promotion of human rights and for guaranteeing fair trial and due process. While lawyers are not expected to be impartial in the same way as judges, they must be as free as judges from external pressure and interference. When guarantees are not in place to enable lawyers to discharge their duties in an independent manner, the door is open to all sorts of pressure and interference aimed at influencing or controlling judicial proceedings (A/HRC/23/43/Add.3, para. 86). 67. Nevertheless, lawyers must be accountable with regard to their professional functions. They must conduct themselves according to ethical standards and clearly established norms of behaviour.9 The Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers state that “lawyers shall at all times maintain the honour and dignity of their profession” (principle 12) and that “lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession” (principle 13). Those provisions, however, must be interpreted without prejudice to the application of administrative, criminal or civil liability in cases of violations of established standards of conduct and ethics. 6 7 8 9 12 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Mouvement Burkinabé des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples v. Burkina Faso, communication No. 204/97 (2001). Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, guideline 4. Idem, guideline 15. International Commission of Jurists, International Principles on the Independence and Accountability of Judges, Lawyers and Prosecutors: Practitioners Guide No.1, 2nd ed. (Geneva, 2007), p. 68.