The United Nations system includes a broad array of tribunals
and committees. Some are administrative in nature while
others have a judicial or quasi-judicial function recognized
by all UN member states and/or state parties to the conventions
that creates them.
Examples of such tribunals include the International Court
of Justice and the newly created International Criminal
Court, both based in The Hague and the International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea based in Hamburg, the latter two
being convention bodies.
Examples of committees include the Human Rights Committee
- the supervisory organ of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Committee on
the Rights of the Child - the supervisory organ of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, "provisions concerning candidate qualifications
must be clear." Most of these tribunals and committees
require that members serve in their individual capacity
even when they are nominated by specific states.
The International Court of Justice mandates that "the
Court shall be composed of a body of independent judges,
elected regardless of their nationality from among persons
of high moral character, who possess the qualifications
required in their respective countries for appointment to
the highest judicial offices…"
More recent tribunals such as the ICC have refined their
nomination criteria. Among other things, the ICC now also
requires specific legal expertise in human rights or international
law as well as language requirements.
Candidates must also provide "a statement in the necessary
detail specifying how they fulfill the requirements"
for office. Finally, in their nominating procedures, state
parties must take into account the need for a geographic
and gender balance.
Committees such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee
on the Rights of the Child have much weaker nomination requirements,
focusing only on the high moral character and recognized
competence of the candidates who are serving in their individual
capacity.
Generally speaking, procedures governing nominations, elections
and tenures at these tribunals and committees fall short
of providing easily accessible, thorough and timely information
on candidates. Information on backgrounds and qualifications
is not centrally located and is often provided too close
to election time for adequate review.
In its report on elections and human rights, UNOHCHR noted
that "judicial impartiality must be guaranteed without
any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures,
threats or interferences, direct or indirect." Unfortunately,
these tribunals and committees do not include specific rules
prohibiting certain types of professional activities concurrently
performed by their members, thereby jeopardizing the independence
of their decisions. Specifically, members, who are supposed
to serve in their own capacities, also often serve as diplomats
of their own state, creating serious conflicts of interest
with their tribunal/committee duties.
