A/HRC/44/47/Add.2 separation of powers and the rule of law, taking into account the recommendations of relevant international and regional bodies, including the Human Rights Committee and the institutions of the inter-American system for the protection of human rights. 96. The law should be the result of an open, fair and transparent process, involving not only the Supreme Court, but the whole of the judiciary, the Commissioner for Human Rights and civil society actors, and should regulate all aspects of the judicial career, including decisions pertaining to the selection and appointment of candidates to judicial offices, security of tenure, remuneration and benefits received by judges and court personnel, the conditions of service, transfer, promotion, pensions, the age of retirement and disciplinary proceedings against judges. 1. Council of the Judiciary 97. In order to guarantee its independence from the executive and legislative branches and ensure effective self-governance for the judiciary, the law on the Council of the Judiciary and the Judicial Career should include detailed provisions regarding the setting-up of the Council of the Judiciary and its composition and functions and guarantee the autonomy of the Council with regard to the executive and legislative branches of power. 98. The administrative functions currently attributed to the Supreme Court should be transferred to the new Council of the Judiciary, which should be endowed with the widest powers in the areas of the selection, promotion, training and professional evaluation of, and disciplinary proceedings against, judges. The Council should also be granted general responsibilities with regard to the administration of the court system and the allocation of budgetary resources to the various courts. 99. To avoid the risk of corporatism and self-interest, the Council of the Judiciary should include not only judges, but also lawyers, law professors, jurists, members of the Bar and lay members, such as citizens of acknowledged reputation and experience. The judges who are members of the Council should be elected by their peers following methods that guarantee the widest representation of the judiciary at all levels, and the election of lay members of the Council should be entrusted to non-political authorities. While actively serving in their positions, politicians and members of the legislative or executive branches of power should not simultaneously serve on the Council. 100. The selection and appointment of members of the Council of the Judiciary should take place in an open and transparent way so as to eliminate interference from political parties and economic groups in the election of the counsellors. The selection of candidates should be undertaken on the basis of clear and objective criteria previously established by law and decisions based solely on merit, taking into account their qualifications, skills and abilities, as well as their integrity, independence and impartiality. 101. The Chair of the Council should be elected by the Council and the position held by an impartial person with no political affiliation. 2. Selection and appointment of judges 102. The procedure for the selection of candidates to judicial offices should be transparent and based on objective criteria established in the new law on the Council of the Judiciary and the Judicial Career. The vacancy notice and the terms of reference should be publicly announced and widely disseminated. The selection process should include competitive examinations conducted, at least in part, in a written and anonymous manner and an interview, at a minimum with the candidates who have reached the final round. 103. Background checks should be handled with the utmost care and conducted strictly on the basis of the rule of law. The selecting authority can request a standard check for a criminal record and any other disqualifying grounds from the police. The results of the background check should be made available to the applicant, who should be entitled to appeal them in court. No other background checks should be performed. The decision to refuse a candidate on the basis of a background check must be a reasoned one. 15