A/HRC/26/32 120. A code of ethics and conduct should be established for all justice operators, with the participation of their respective associations and representatives. Such codes should be applied in a consistent and transparent manner, with full respect for the fundamental guarantees of fair trial and due process. 121. States should improve the transparency of the justice system. Hearings and decision-making should be made public so as to permit public scrutiny of the work of justice operators. Decisions should be rendered in written form, be reasoned and be published on databases and websites in order to make them truly accessible and free of charge. 122. The transparency of the justice system should also encompass mechanisms relating to other State powers, civil society, the media, the police, public prosecutors and human rights commissions, among others. Accountability mechanisms and proceedings 123. Accountability mechanisms and proceedings should respect the fundamental guarantees of fair trial and due process and should be implemented by an independent and impartial body. Accountability procedures should be limited to instances of professional misconduct that are gross and inexcusable and that also bring the judiciary into disrepute. 124. All justice operators should be provided with training and education on their respective codes of ethics and conduct, rules of procedure and the consequences if those norms are breached. Institutions and bodies in charge of overseeing the accountability of the justice system 125. Judicial accountability should be undertaken through an independent body. That body should have the role of protecting judicial independence and promoting judicial accountability. 126. Regarding the judiciary, the independent body should preferably be composed entirely of judges, retired or sitting, although some representation of the legal profession or academia could be advisable. No political representation should be permitted. In addition, the independent body should manage its own budget, have enough human and financial resources to carry out its mandate and be accountable for its activities. 127. Independent bodies in charge of the accountability of prosecutors could follow a similar structure to those for judges. 128. An independent professional organization should be established to represent the interests of lawyers, oversee the process of admitting candidates to the profession, promote their continuing education and training, protect their professional integrity and enforce disciplinary proceedings in a fair and consistent manner. 129. The right to have disciplinary decisions reviewed by a higher judicial tribunal should be guaranteed for judges, prosecutors and lawyers alike. State responsibility and the right to a remedy 130. The judiciary and the justice system as a whole engage the responsibility of the State. States should therefore provide effective remedies to individuals who have suffered damage owing to wrongful convictions or any other miscarriage of justice. 21

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