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domestic law. Likewise, they shall refrain from promoting the
widespread or selective use (in specific cases) of pretrial detention.
3.
In order to provide support and to strengthen institutionality for the
the judicial authorities charged with ordering pretrial detention, the
IACHR recommends, among other measures, to train officers of the
court in how to perform in matters that are the subject of highlycharged public controversy and in which they can expect to face
pressure from various quarters before reaching their decision, as well
as criticism and questioning once their decision is made.
4.
Guarantee the fundamental principle of the tenure of judges and
magistrates. Judges and magistrates may only be removed from their
functions (i) when the term or condition of their appointment is met
or when they reach the mandatory retirement age, which are
situations that constitute effective compliance with the guarantee of
irremovability during the period of exercise of their position, or (ii)
when the separation from their position is the result of a sanction
issued by the competent authority, after a process that complies with
due process guarantees and the principle of legality.
5.
Disciplinary control mechanisms shall aim to assess the conduct and
performance of the judge as a public official. Member States shall
establish clearly and in detail the conduct subject to disciplinary
sanctions, which should be proportional to the violation committed.
Likewise, the decisions that order the enforcement of disciplinary
sanctions should be public, based on solid grounds, susceptible to
review and comply with due process. The information concerning the
disciplinary proceedings shall be accessible and subject to the principle
of transparency.
6.
These disciplinary control mechanisms shall never be used as a means
to exert pressure on or punish court authorities who have made
pretrial detention decisions in which they were acting within their
sphere of competence and in accordance with the law.
7.
The following is recommended regarding the relationship between the
justice system and the media: (a) devise a communication policy in
each institution of the judiciary that includes the adoption of
measures to make information accessible to the public; (b) create or
reconfigure liaison mechanisms (press offices, for example) between
the judicial branch and the media to provide objective, nonconfidential information concerning the progress or outcome of
judicial proceedings; (c) arrange public spaces in which to provide
instruction in how the institutions within the justice system function,
the manner in which the most frequent judicial proceedings unfold,
and the significance of the most important phases of those
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