A/HRC/13/64 role in full independence, by improving working conditions of justice officials, and by strengthening the Supreme Council of the Judiciary. Finally, the Government should take the necessary steps to ensure that the military courts are used solely for the purpose of trying military personnel for military offences in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law.13 Actions taken by the Government and the current situation 38. At the time of writing this report, the parliament had not yet adopted the laws crucial to reforming the judicial system, notably legislation creating the Cour constitutionnelle (Constitutional Court), the Cour de cassation (Court of Cassation) and the Conseil d’état (State Council). The independent national human rights commission has not been established, and, while the national implementation legislation for the Rome Statute has been considered on several occasions, it has not yet been passed. Such a law would be instrumental in rendering the Rome Statute effective in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and would contribute to setting coherent criminal justice norms in the area of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. In addition, the Liaison Entity, that brings all relevant government entities together to address human rights violations, has been established but is not functional yet. 39. On 15 July 2009, as part of an anti-corruption drive, the President signed several orders dismissing 86 magistrates, retiring 2 magistrates and appointing 605 new magistrates. They were a disciplinary measure in accordance with article 2 of the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (Conseil supérieur de la magistrature – CSM). These orders violate the law on the functioning and organization of the CSM as they were issued without a hearing for the magistrates concerned in violation of the magistrates’ statute and due process principles. In addition, while the “privatization” of the judicial function — where judiciary officials use their position to extort money instead of fulfilling their constitutional mandate — is endemic, as is the interference by political and military authorities in the administration of justice. The action of 15 July did not address these problems directly; instead, it created concerns of arbitrary action and generated accusations of patronage. For example, at least three magistrates who had either disciplinary measures or criminal sentences held against them were promoted, whereas a number of magistrates were dismissed on the same grounds. The ordinances have also thrown some tribunals into dysfunction as magistrates have been removed and, in some cases, not replaced after several months. 40. Due to lack of resources and staff, the judiciary is still unable to fulfil its constitutional role. For instance, in August 2009, the commanding authorities of the Kimia II operation handed over 10 members of the FARDC to the Superior Military Prosecutor of South Kivu, but the prosecutors in the province did not have sufficient staff to handle the cases. Also in Ituri, Orientale Province, the administration of justice has been slow because of the low number of magistrates. In Bandundu Province, the tribunal militaire de garnison (military tribunal) of Bandundu did not hold a hearing for approximately five months because the sole judge in Bandundu only returned from vacation in September 2009. One important response to these structural problems is the growing presence of mobile courts. However, these are very costly and draw badly needed resources from other parts of the judicial system. Another solution is to modify the legal competence to allow the tribunaux de paix to hear cases related to human rights violations in all territories. 13 14 See footnote 1. GE.10-10563