E/CN.4/2002/77/Add.2
page 16
activists claim that recourse to Sunni foreigners is calculated to exclude them from the national
administration. Also on the subject of the independence of judges, the majority of informants
highlight the weakness of the judiciary, the conservatism and the incompetence of many judges
who have not been given adequate training. Accordingly, the Working Group believes that a
significant effort needs to be made in this sphere.
46.
At their meeting with the delegation, members of the committee working under the
chairmanship of the Crown Prince to give effect to the National Charter affirmed their
commitment to the independence of the judiciary and reported that, within the terms of their
mandate, they had started to tidy up the legal provisions currently in force to bring them into line
with the Charter. The necessary proposals and recommendations would gradually be forwarded
to the authorities in order to expedite the introduction of mechanisms and institutions
guaranteeing the practical application of the heralded reforms.
47.
It was in this connection that the status of the judiciary and the various instruments
regulating the exercise of citizens’ rights and fundamental freedoms found their way onto the
Committee’s schedule. The schedule indicates that the Committee is sincere in its desire to
ensure the independence of the judiciary and put effective supervisory mechanisms in place.
48.
During the delegation’s visit, H.H. the Amir announced the opening of a Law Faculty and
the Committee introduced two anti-corruption bills, one on public contracts and the other on the
control of public finances, at a televised news conference. Texts concerning the judiciary will be
examined after the unemployment and advertising bills. The establishment of the Constitutional
Court referred to in the Constitution is also on the agenda.
49.
The Working Group welcomes these pertinent initiatives and encourages the Committee
to pursue them. It stresses, however, that while nobody disputes that changes have taken place,
reforms cannot progress beyond the theoretical stage unless attitudes change as well. The
existence of an independent judiciary of course requires appropriate laws to be promulgated, but
it is also important to ensure that the independence of judges is actually enshrined and respected
in practice.
50.
To this end, it is necessary to make judges more conscious of their new assignments,
provide them with proper training, review the procedure for recruiting them and ensure that
candidates are selected on the basis of objective and transparent criteria in conformity with the
Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted by the United Nations in 1985.
4.
Prosecuting and investigative bodies
51.
The criminal justice system currently in place is based on the Anglo-Saxon model in
which there is no judicial police operating under the authority of legal officers, no State
prosecutor’s office, no investigating judges such as exist in criminal systems based on
Romano-Germanic law, and no judges responsible for the execution of sentences. Prosecution
and investigative functions are carried out by police officers and officials under the authority of
the Ministry of the Interior. The same officers are entrusted with executing judicial decisions
and administering prisons. Only judicial bodies (courts and tribunals) are under the stewardship
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