A/HRC/RES/37/3
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
9 April 2018
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Thirty-seventh session
26 February–23 March 2018
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 22 March 2018
37/3.
Integrity of the judicial system
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and articles 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, and bearing in mind the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
Recalling the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearance,
Recalling also other important documents on the issue of the integrity of the
judiciary endorsed by various forums of the United Nations, in particular the Basic
Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers, the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, the Declaration of Basic Principles of
Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of
Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment,
the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, the
United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice
Systems and the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct,
Recalling further its resolutions 19/31 of 23 March 2012, 25/4 of 27 March 2014
and 31/2 of 23 March 2016, and previous relevant resolutions of the Commission on
Human Rights,
Stressing that most of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are not territorially limited and
cannot be read as restricting or limiting States’ obligations to respect the rights of all
persons, anywhere in the world, to be free from torture and ill-treatment,
Underlining that all States must ensure that their obligations and commitments
under international law, including international and regional human rights instruments to
which they are party, are applied to any person kept in detention facilities under their
jurisdiction, including when those facilities are situated abroad,
Convinced that the integrity of the judicial system, together with its independence
and impartiality, is an essential prerequisite for the protection of human rights and
GE.18-05507(E)