Sixth Committee
Administration of Justice
8 October 2007
Statement by Senator the Hon Rod Kemp, Parliamentary Adviser to the Australian Delegation to the United Nations
(As Delivered)
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The staff members of the United Nations are entitled to a fair and efficient system of internal justice that is consistent with the relevant rules of international law and the principles of the rule of law and due process. In this respect, the United Nations should lead by example. CANZ therefore attaches great importance to the reform of the Administration of Justice system and to the implementation of a system in which staff, management and Member States can have confidence. That is why we were very pleased that the General Assembly, drawing on the recommendations of the Redesign Panel, decided in resolution 61/261 of 4 April 2007 to establish a new, independent, transparent and professionalised system for the administration of justice.
Mr Chairman,
We acknowledge the recent report of the Secretary-General on the administration of justice. In particular, we thank the Secretary-General for providing us with the draft elements of the Statute of the UN Dispute Tribunal and of the Statute of the UN Appeals Tribunal. We look forward to examining and discussing these draft Statutes as we continue our consideration of this item in this Committee.
Mr Chairman,
As this Committee recognised when we last considered this item, the proposals put forward by the Redesign Panel and the Secretary-General conform to internationally recognised standards of justice and the rule of law, although we noted there may be other approaches that would also conform to those standards. As the proposed implementation deadline of January 2009 is fast approaching, it is incumbent on this Committee to again review the various legal aspects of the proposals, and to provide guidance to our colleagues in the Fifth Committee for when they turn their minds to addressing an adequate funding and staffing base for the new justice system. CANZ believes that we should consider the legal issues in the draft statutes and assist our Fifth Committee colleagues to ensure that the new system is both legally sound and meets the required standards of justice and due process.
For example, we recall that the Redesign Panel identified access to legal representation as a recognised international standard of justice and criticised the current internal justice system for its “egregious inequality of arms”. We look forward to discussing this issue further and finding means to allow all parties to receive a fair hearing before the tribunal.
Similarly, we recall that the Redesign Panel emphasised the need for professional, independent judges. When considering further the criteria and process for the selection of judges, we need to ensure the process is appropriate to this unique context - an internal justice system applying the rules and standards of the United Nations to staff members in various locations. In this regard, CANZ supports the proposal advanced by the Redesign Panel in which an Internal Justice Council of eminent persons identifies a list of persons eligible for appointment to the judicial positions in the two bodies, and the Secretary-General and the General Assembly then appoint persons to the Disputes Tribunal and Appeals Tribunal respectively from that list.
Mr Chairman,
CANZ intends to continue to work constructively with all partners towards the establishment of a functional system of United Nations internal justice in time for the proposed implementation deadline of January 2009.
Thank you, Mr Chairman.