UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (UPI) -- The U.N. General Assembly Wednesday mandated the first overhaul of its flawed, 60-year-old internal justice system.
"We have taken a significant step forward in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of this organization by approving the first serious overhaul of the United Nations' system of administration of justice in 60 years," said General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa.
She said the assembly's members asked for all elements of the new system to be fully functional by January 2009.
Khalifa said the United Nations should model the standards it advocates.
"Around the world, the organization promotes justice and equality and represents the rule of law to its members," the assembly president said. "The organization therefore requires a system of justice which is independent, transparent, professional and adequately resourced."
The existing system of internal justice, in place since the late 1940s, was designed for a different era when the organization had only a few thousand staff in a handful of locations, she said.
"Over time, the backlogs and delays have become significant and the independence and credibility of the system seriously compromised. ...
"The existing system serves no-one well, not the staff, not the managers and ultimately, not the organization or the member states."
