A/HRC/44/47/Add.2 the people can be confident that the judiciary acts and adjudicates exclusively on the basis of the constitution and the law. 7. In the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, it is indicated that the measures that States must adopt to secure and promote the independence of judges and magistrates. According to principle 1 of the Basic Principles, the independence of the judiciary shall be enshrined in the constitution or the law of the country and it is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary. Under principle 2, the judiciary shall decide matters before them impartially, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interference, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason. The Basic Principles also provide guidance on other requirements, including regarding the qualifications of and selection process for judges (principle 10), conditions of service (principle 11), security of tenure (principle 12) and disciplinary, suspension or removal proceedings (principles 17−20). 8. The Constitution of Honduras provides that the State endorses the generally accepted norms, standards and practices of international law that are conducive to human solidarity, respect for the self-determination of peoples, non-intervention and the strengthening of universal peace and democracy (art. 15). Following their ratification, international agreements become part of the domestic legal order (art. 16) and take precedence over national legislation in case of conflicts with the provisions contained in ordinary law (art. 18). B. Justice system 9. The judicial system of Honduras consists of the Supreme Court of Justice, courts of appeal, courts of first instance and justices of the peace. 10. At the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, there were 5,739 judges in the country, 52 per cent of whom were women. 1. Supreme Court of Justice 11. The Supreme Court of Justice is the supreme judicial authority in the country. It consists of 15 justices distributed among four chambers: Constitutional Chamber, Criminal Chamber, Civil Chamber and Labour Chamber. The Constitutional Chamber is the only one which is explicitly established in the Constitution (art. 316) and is composed of five magistrates. The other Chambers comprise three magistrates each. The President of the Supreme Court represents the judicial branch. 12. According to the Constitution, the Supreme Court has general competences in relation to the organization and supervision of the judiciary and exercises far-reaching jurisdictional functions, including hearing cases involving senior State officials, extradition cases and cases adjudicated by lower courts. The Constitutional Chamber is competent to determine the constitutionality of laws, decrees and regulations, hear individual petitions for the protection of constitutional rights (writs of amparo and habeas corpus) and adjudicate any disputes between the powers of the State, including the National Electoral Council (art. 316). 2. Courts of appeal 13. Courts of appeal have jurisdiction over appeals arising from cases before tribunals of first instance. They are three-judge panels that hear all appeals from the lower courts, including civil and commercial, criminal, labour, administrative, constitutional and habeas corpus cases. There are 27 courts of appeal in the country, located in the main provinces. The judges of the appellate courts are appointed by the Supreme Court. 3. Courts of first instance 14. Courts of first instance cover civil, commercial, criminal, labour, family, administrative, domestic violence and juvenile cases. In the main provinces, in addition to their territorial competence, the courts have a judicial competence in labour, civil, 3