Methods for increasing public trust in judicial institutions explored at ODIHR event in Montenegro

Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past participated in the regional round table held in Podgorica on 28 and 29 September 2017. The relationship between the work of judicial self-governance bodies and judicial independence and accountability was the focus of a regional roundtable discussion organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The roundtable gathered 25 participants, including representatives of judicial councils, civil society organizations and five OSCE field operations in South Eastern Europe, to take stock of and identify ways to overcome challenges with respect to the role, composition and effective and transparent functioning of judicial self-governance bodies in the region.
This regional roundtable provides a unique opportunity to assess the applicability of ODIHR’s Kyiv Recommendations on Judicial Independence in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia to the South Eastern European context.
“Judicial self-governance bodies have an important role to play in safeguarding and promoting the independence and accountability of the judiciary,” said Ambassador Maryse Daviet, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, noting that the work of such bodies, therefore, has a critical impact on public trust in judicial institutions.
By comparing models of judicial self-governance throughout the OSCE region, participants analyzed how international standards and best practices might be integrated into ongoing judicial reform processes in their respective countries.