A/HRC/45/CRP.7 361. The Group of Experts also found that, like most of the public sector, the judiciary has suffered from curtailed payment of salaries and benefits. Since January 2020 the disbursement of salaries for the judiciary in the north of the country has been fully suspended in what appears to be a politically motivated decision by the Supreme Judicial Council under the authority of the Government of Yemen. This creates fertile ground for corruption, a feature which continues to undermine the independent and impartial administration of justice in Yemen. Legal findings 362. The Group of Experts concludes that serious violations of international human rights law are occurring within the administration of justice in Yemen, in particular through the politicisation of the system, the regular denial of fair trial rights, attacks on judicial officers and the imposition of the death penalty in a manner contrary to international human rights law. Where there is the necessary nexus to the conflict, such breaches also constitute violations of international humanitarian law. The Group of Experts has noted a frequency of violations associated with the SCC in Sana’a in particular, but considers that violations are being committed by authorities across all areas of Yemen. VI. Accountability 363. Over the last three years, the Group of Experts has reported on serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, some of which may amount to crimes under international law. It has made repeated calls for relevant authorities to conduct prompt investigations, compliant with international standards, into alleged violations and to prosecute those responsible. The Group has also stressed the need to realise victims’ rights to an effective remedy (including reparations). Regrettably, the Group of Experts has seen no timely and effective remedies for victims in Yemen. It is vital for the international community to intensify its engagement with parties to the conflict and other States, to seek to combat impunity and support accountability related initiatives. A. Criminal Justice Accountability Legal Framework 364. States have a duty to investigate and where sufficient evidence exists, prosecute, serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that constitute crimes under national or international law. This duty attaches in particular to genocide,538 war crimes,539 crimes against humanity,540 and other gross violations of human rights, including summary or extrajudicial killings, torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, slavery, enforced disappearance, rape and other forms of sexual violence.541 While this responsibility attaches to States, as the Group of Experts has 538 Genocide Convention, arts. 1 and 4. Under customary international humanitarian law governing NIACs, States are under an obligation to investigate all allegations of war crimes committed by their armed forces or nationals, as well as those allegedly committed on their territory. Where there is sufficient evidence, they have the duty to prosecute those responsible. See ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law, rule 158. 540 While there is not yet a treaty specifically focused on crimes against humanity, this category of crime features in the Rome Statute and is recognised as one of “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole” which “must not go unpunished”: Preamble to the Rome Statute. 541 In some cases, the duty arises by virtue of treaty obligations to criminalise offences and establish and exercise jurisdiction in the circumstances outlined: e.g. CAT, arts. 4-7; CPED, arts. 6-11. However, the duty to investigate and prosecute has been regarded as attaching more broadly to violations amounting to crimes under national or international law: see e.g. Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 31, The Nature of the General Obligations on States Parties to the Covenant, (2004), para.18. See too, Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation 539 90