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A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

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treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons. 200<br />

• All persons must be immediately in<strong>for</strong>med by the competent authority of their right to be<br />

assisted by a lawyer of their own choice upon arrest or detention or when charged <strong>with</strong> a<br />

criminal offence. 201<br />

• Any detained or arrested person who does not have a lawyer is, in all cases in which the interests<br />

of justice so require, entitled to have a lawyer of experience and competence commensurate<br />

<strong>with</strong> the nature of the offence assigned to him or her in order to provide effective legal<br />

assistance, <strong>with</strong>out payment if the person lacks sufficient means to pay <strong>for</strong> such services. 202<br />

• All persons arrested or detained, <strong>with</strong> or <strong>with</strong>out criminal charge, have a right to prompt access<br />

to a lawyer, and in any case not later than 48 hours from the time of arrest or detention. 203<br />

• All arrested, detained, or imprisoned persons are to be provided <strong>with</strong> adequate opportunities,<br />

time, and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult <strong>with</strong> a lawyer, <strong>with</strong>out<br />

delay, interception, or censorship and in full confidentiality. Such consultations may be <strong>with</strong>in<br />

sight, but not <strong>with</strong>in the hearing, of law en<strong>for</strong>cement officials. 204<br />

• No one is to be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfill a contractual<br />

obligation. 205<br />

Administration of Justice: Judicial Independence<br />

• <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia should support amendment of the constitution of Liberia to<br />

include an explicit guarantee of judicial independence. 206<br />

• A judicial code of conduct should be written, disseminated, and en<strong>for</strong>ced. 207<br />

• <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia should ensure judges and lawyers receive appropriate training. 208<br />

• <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia should ensure that the term of office of judges, their independence,<br />

security, adequate remuneration, conditions of service, pensions, and the age of retirement<br />

are adequately secured by law. 209<br />

• <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia should ensure that promotion of judges is based on objective<br />

factors, in particular ability, integrity, and experience. 210<br />

• <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia must ensure that judges are subject to suspension or removal<br />

only <strong>for</strong> reasons of incapacity or behavior that renders them unfit to carry out their duties.<br />

All disciplinary, suspension, or removal proceedings must be determined in accordance <strong>with</strong><br />

established standards of judicial conduct. Decisions in disciplinary, suspension, or removal<br />

proceedings should be subject to an independent review. 211<br />

• <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia should ensure that all individuals appointed to judicial office are<br />

Potential Implementation Strategy: Re<strong>for</strong>ming the Judiciary<br />

Relative to rebuilding confidence and trust in the judiciary, in a 2006 report the Liberian Governance<br />

Re<strong>for</strong>m Commission suggested that a permanent judicial training institute should be established to<br />

address the training needs of all levels of the judiciary. 212 <strong>The</strong> Government of Liberia and international<br />

donors should continue to support ef<strong>for</strong>ts to establish such an institution.<br />

434

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