Shivute rallies behind the creation of the Global Judicial Integrity Network
Chief Justice, Peter Shivute affirmed Namibia’s support for the creation of the Global Judicial Integrity Network which is set to be launched in April 2018.
The creation of the Global Judicial Integrity Network is part of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC’s) Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, which was adopted by the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in 2015.
Shivute highlighted the importance of judicial integrity, and said that “It is no exaggeration to say that without integrity our judicial systems will disintegrate, and become empty shells that are unable to carry out their sacred constitutional mandate.”
“To ensure that integrity becomes the bedrock of all our work and interactions as judicial officers, we must continually inculcate the values of honesty, fairness and justice in all that we do,” Shivute added.
This particular programme provides support and technical assistance to Member States across the world in areas of judicial integrity, prisoners’ rehabilitation, youth crime prevention, and education for justice, all with the objective of promoting a culture of lawfulness and boosting respect for the rule of law.
“The judiciary plays a crucial role in combating corruption, but in order to fulfill this, they themselves must be free from corruption. This final preparatory meeting provides members of the judiciaries in Anglophone and Lusophone speaking African countries an important forum to discuss challenges being faced and expectations towards what the Network will offer,” UNODC Southern Africa Regional Representative, Zhuldyz Akisheva said during the final meeting on the programme which was held in Swakopmund last week.
