A/HRC/30/42 60. In addition to guaranteeing the individual independence of judges, it is also important to strengthen the institutional independence of the judiciary. This can be accomplished by enshrining the separation of powers in constitutional texts and/or practices; using methods for appointing judges and magistrates that signal a valuation of competence and independence rather than political affiliation; endowing the judiciary with sufficient resources and providing it with budgetary and administrative autonomy; ensuring that cases are assigned on the basis of objective criteria; and respecting and enforcing the decisions of courts, even when they are contrary to the interests of the executive or its supporters, including regarding significant issues for the Government, such as electoral questions. 61. For the adjudication of cases involving mass violations, judicial systems need to build and further develop specialized capacities regarding the widespread and systemic nature of violations and the identification of respective patterns and nodes in networks of systemic crimes, as they require a change in investigative, prosecutorial and adjudication techniques and practices. 36 In many jurisdictions, familiarity with international human rights and humanitarian law is weak to non existent. Familiarity with the peculiarities of “structure crimes”, 37 such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, which rest upon a network of actors, is even scarcer. Dismantling networks of such criminality, some of which are ensconced in State institutions, i.e. in torture cases, through the implementation of an appropriate strategy ably pursued by prosecutors and competently adjudicated by judges is one of the most effective contributions a judicial system can make to preventing the recurrence of violations. Such capacities are sometimes best expressed and built in the establishment of specialized (pre -)investigatory offices, courts or tribunals. E. Constitutional reform 62. The following is a set of constitutional issues, presented in a rough ascending order of complexity, that transitioning countries could make part of their non recurrence policy. 1. Removing discriminatory provisions, introducing mechanisms of inclusion 63. The removal from constitutions and other laws or by-laws of any provisions that may fuel discrimination, a well-known source of social strife, is likely to contribute to the prevention of violations. Several truth commissions and peace agreements have made recommendations to this effect. For instance, the Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended removing racist and sexist provisions governing citizenship, arguing that citizenship should be acquired by birth, descent or naturalization. In Morocco, the Instance équité et réconciliation argued for a constitutional prohibition on all forms of internationally prohibited discrimination and any incitation to racism, hatred or violence. The Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Accord (2000), which aimed at settling the conflict in Burundi, banned all political or other associations that advocated ethnic, religious or gender discrimination, and laid the basis for the consociational power -sharing agreement, 36 37 See A/HRC/27/56, paras. 88-91. Ibid., para. 71. 15