Ensuring judicial independence and accountability: Judicial vetting and other extraordinary reform measures

As part of the 2026 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, ODIHR is bringing together legal experts and practitioners to discuss judicial vetting and other extraordinary reform measures, and how to ensure that efforts to strengthen accountability safeguard judicial independence and impartiality.

Across the OSCE region, these measures are increasingly being considered and used to address systemic problems in justice systems. While there may be legitimate grounds for extraordinary reforms, they can pose risks to judicial independence, judges’ security of tenure and due process rights. They can also disrupt the work of courts through staff shortages and case backlogs.

Drawing on experiences from Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland and Hungary, the discussion will examine the challenges of addressing systemic problems through ordinary constitutional mechanisms and the grounds for resorting to extraordinary measures. Speakers will consider safeguards against political interference, ways to limit disruptions to the administration of justice, and how accountability tools introduced during reforms can become part of permanent legal and institutional frameworks.

The event will also explore how the OSCE and other stakeholders can support judicial reforms that comply with international standards and good practices.