Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers

Purpose of the mandate

Today, the independence of the judiciary and the free exercise of the legal profession continue to be under threat in many countries of the world. Judges, prosecutors and lawyers are subject to attacks and violations of their rights, including threats, intimidation, external interference in conducting their professional activities, arbitrary detention, prosecution, and killings.
This mandate was created to:

• record attacks on the independence of judges, lawyers and prosecutors;
• monitor the progress made in protecting and enhancing their independence;
• make concrete recommendations to States and other actors;
• identify ways to improve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession.

Over the years, the mandate has recorded a significant number of attacks against judges and prosecutors and restrictions to the free and independent exercise of their profession, and brought these allegations to the attention of the national authorities.

About the mandate

In 1994, in the light of the increasing frequency of attacks on the independence of judges, lawyers and court officials, the weakening of safeguards for the judiciary and lawyers and the gravity and the frequency of human rights violations, the Commission on Human Rights decided to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in resolution 1994/41. This mandate was assumed by the Human Rights Council (General Assembly resolution 60/251), and extended for one year (Human Rights Council decision 2006/102).

In June 2008, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers was subject to review undertaken by the Human Rights Council and extended for a period of three years. The mandate was further extended by resolutions 8/6, 17/2, 26/7, 35/11, 44/8, 53/12 and most recently 62/12.

Read more about the mandate

Current mandate holder

Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite © Thomas: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite was appointed as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers by the Human Rights Council in October 2022.

Professor Satterthwaite is an international human rights scholar and practitioner with decades of experience in the field. She is a Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, where she directs the Legal Empowerment and Judicial Independence Clinic and serves as a faculty director of the Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice.

Read Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite’s full biography