Second Meeting of Global Judicial Integrity Network Advisory Board 2020

Doha, December 13 (QNA) - The Advisory Board of the Global Judicial Integrity Network 2020 held its second meeting virtually, headed by HE Chief Justice of the Supreme Judiciary Council of Qatar and president of the Court of Cassation Dr Hassan bin Lahdan Al Hassan Al Mohannadi. HE Al Mohannadi chairs this mechanism as he is the chairperson of the second high-level meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network for the current session 2020/2021, noting that the advisory board is entrusted with the function of reviewing and approving the policies, programs and achievements that the global network is working on and managed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It is considered as one of the results of the fourth pillar (judicial integrity) of the implementation program of the "Doha Declaration" on crime prevention and criminal justice (2015-2020). At the beginning of the meeting, His Excellency expressed his wishes and the Supreme Judiciary Council judges wishes to their fellow judges in the world for success and the durability of giving in the service of the supreme goal that unites the efforts of global judicial international cooperation in the service of prompt justice and the human right to a fair trial. HE gave a brief on the results of the negotiation efforts of the Supreme Judicial Council with its partner, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to finalize an agreement to establish and host a specialized UN center for research and training in the fields of judicial integrity, which is currently under enforcement and accreditation. For her part, the member of the advisory board of the network and the president of the Court of Appeal in the Federal District of Washington, DC, who is also president of the International Association of Women Judges Judge Phenicia Ruiz, expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Supreme Judicial Council and for the presidency of Dr. Al Mohannadi, which, despite the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, continued to implement its pledges, including supporting the International Association of Women Judges, in terms of conveying its voice to the international community, and contributing to a new dimension that supports global efforts to empower women, as this is one of the important pillars and cornerstone of realizing the global sustainable development goals 2030. In turn, the secretariat of the Global Judicial Integrity Network of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime appreciated the efforts of the Supreme Judicial Council and its continuous and regular initiatives to translate the commitment of the State of Qatar to the principles of preventive diplomacy, in which justice and crime prevention occupies a fundamental place in its global methodology, as Qatar has expressed many times its faith in this approach as a philosophy and practice. In the discussions, the State of Qatar reviewed the results of the pledges made by its presidency of the second high-level meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network, which was hosted by Doha from February 25 to 27, 2020. The Supreme Judicial Council, in cooperation with the permanent delegation of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York, is currently undertaking efforts to distribute a draft resolution that will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly next February to adopt an International Day for Women Judge. Staff of the main program for judicial integrity projects and its branches of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime made a presentation at the beginning of the discussions, explaining the achievements and the most prominent developments and proceeds from its activities, which were in the form of training products, guidance guides and advisory services, and the establishment of regional training sites around the world. It works to raise the capabilities of judicial institutions and their judges in the fields of judicial integrity, institutional policies and individual practices in this direction, as well as solving the most prominent challenges facing the institutionalization of the mechanism of oversight, guidance and accountability in judicial work, and strengthening international judicial cooperation in this important and main field. The participants in the meeting took a number of decisions to adopt the work program and projects of the network for the next year 2021, while the representative of the Republic of Brazil announced the decision of his country to host the third high-level meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network in September of next year. (QNA)