On 2 February 2026, MEDEL met online the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite.
The SR invited MEDEL to participate in a virtual consultation as part of the preparation for her upcoming thematic report on judicial appointments.
During the meeting MEDEL shared with the Special Rapporteur experiences and challenges related to many European countries.
The consultation aimed to gather perspectives from judicial associations on topics such as the legal frameworks governing judicial appointments; the roles and responsibilities of judicial councils; standards of merit, transparency, applicable to the evaluation of candidates; positive experiences, challenges, risks of politicization or co-optation; lessons learned from national practice; diversity, gender parity and human rights considerations in judicial selection processes.
The Special Rapporteur’s report will be presented at the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council in June 2026.