in June 1998, a group of distinguished parliamentarians, judges, lawyers and legal academics drafted guidelines which would provide an operational manual of good practice with regard to the fundamental values of the Commonwealth and the commitments contained in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration and Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme. The guidelines were further refined and endorsed by Commonwealth Heads of Government in November 2003 as the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Accountability of and the Relationship between the Three Branches of Government (the Principles).
The Principles provide an effective framework for the implementation of the Commonwealth's fundamental values of democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law and became an integral part of these values following agreement by the Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in 2005.
The Principles essentially provide a roadmap for democracy and good governance through their emphasis on the separation of powers between the three branches of government as guarantors of the rule of law, promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and the entrenchment of good governance based on the highest standards of honesty, probity and accountability. The ability of citizens to hold their governments to account, in addition to an independent and efficient judiciary, reduces the prevalence of corruption and has a significant impact on transparency and improved governance.
The CLA has been actively engaged in the promotion and implementation of the Principles, most notably through the Nairobi Plan of Action for Africa, and continues to work towards strengthening and developing the Principles further” and the start of the section on the Colloquium in June 2008.
A copy of the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Colloquium report is now available from the CLA
UN Guide to Strengthening Integrity in the Judiciary
From 8th – 10th November 2009, the UN Office for Drugs and Organised Crime and IRSIT – CNR held a group meeting of experts on Bologna, Italy with the object of developing a guide to be used in providing technical assistance aimed at strengthening judicial integrity and capacity. The CLA was invited to participate and Mr. Colin Nicholls QC, Hon. Life President of the CLA, represented the CLA at the meeting
Briefing Commonwealth Secretary General
On 23rd November 2009, the CLA, together with the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (CMJA) and the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA), submitted a confidential briefing to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, outlining the issues that have arisen in the judicial and legal sphere in relation to the implementation, or lack of it, of the Principles around the Commonwealth. The briefing covered the period from August 2007 – November 2009. This was in advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad & Tobago.
Participants of the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Colloquium in July 2009
A copy of the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Colloquium report is now available from the CLA
The Commonwealth (Latimer House) Colloquium took place in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 6 th and 7 th July 2008. It was organised by the CLA, together with the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA), the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the Law Officers at the Scottish Parliament. The discussions at the Colloquium addressed t he level of awareness and implementation of the Principles in various Commonwealth countries to date, in addition to the practical problems which arise in respect of preserving the independence of the judiciary and parliament, gender and ethical issues, accountability mechanisms and examples of good and bad practice.
The 66 participants from 24 Commonwealth countries (and Zimbabwe), representing the executive, parliament, judicial and legal professions participated in one of three workshop groups. Workshop A - Accountability Mechanisms, Workshop B - Institutional Integrity and Autonomy and Workshop C - Diversity, Gender Equality, Transparency and Civil Society. Each workshop group had an equal mix of representatives from each sector in order to ensure that the discussion was even, that participants were exposed to different perspectives and to encourage debate.
Within these groups, participants were asked to concentrate on:
The relationship between the parliament and the judiciary generally;
The practical problems which arise in respect of preserving independence of both the judiciary and parliamentarians;
A review of accountability mechanisms for the Principles;
The NPAA and extending this to the wider Commonwealth
The Principles and EPOA have serious potential to have a major impact across the Commonwealth. The ability of citizens to hold their governments to account, in addition to an independent and efficient executive, parliament and judiciary reduces the prevalence of corruption and has a considerable impact on the overall transparency and improved governance in any country. In continuing to publicise the Principles and in implementing the EPOA, the CLA will continue to fulfil its mandate in relation to the rule of law in the Commonwealth. The CLA is grateful to the Commonwealth Secretariat for its assistance in funding participants to attend the Colloquium and looks forward to continuing to work together in the future on the promotion and implementation of the Principles.
