NCJ Number
98249
Date Published
1984
Length
78 pages
Annotation
This booklet discusses the 'structuralistic' approach of the role of judges within the context of the basis of the United Nations Social Defense Research Institute, which is to contribute to the understanding of judges' role in areas of human rights and fundamental freedoms of man.
Abstract
Judges, in order to fulfill their commitment to justice, must operate in a system which constitutionally guarantees the absolute independence of the judiciary and, individually, grants them complete freedom of decision. The structuralist approach prompts a reconsideration in new terms of any legal system as an autonomous, original, and organic system which derives some of its constructive criteria from the elements of its structure and is opposed to naturalist tendencies or particular pressures from interest groups or ideologies. The principle objectives of the International Association of Judges are to safeguard the independence of the judicial power as an essential condition of the judicial function; to exchange, widen, and improve information, knowledge and experience; and to study problems of common implementation of new procedures and methodologies. Appendixes and enclosures on the United Nations Social Defense Research Institute and the International Association of Judges are included.