Judicial Corruption

See - global priorities/other thematic issues/judiciary

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Judicial Corruption

It is difficult to overstate the negative impact of a corrupt judiciary: it erodes the ability of the international community to tackle transnational crime and terrorism; it diminishes trade, economic growth and human development; and most importantly, it denies citizens impartial settlement of disputes with neighbors or the authorities. When the latter occurs, corrupt judiciaries fracture and divide communities by keeping alive the sense of injury created by unjust treatment and mediation. This way judicial corruption not only maintains social segregation but also fundamentally violates human rights by jeopardizing the due process of law. Corruption occurs at every step of the judicial system, ranging from political interference in the judicial process by government agencies, to small-scale bribery by court clercks.

Examples are numerous: the executive may affect the independence of the judiciary through appointment of members of judiciary not based on objective criteria, outright selling of judgeships and removal of judges critical towards the government. A judge may solicit bribes to delay or accelerate court hearings, or to simply decide a case in favour of a particular party. Lawyers may expedite or delay cases, sometimes working in unison with a judge and/or a prosecutor. Court clercks may demand bribes to perform a task they are already paid for. Judicial systems debased by bribery undermine confidence in governance by facilitating corruption across all sectors of government, starting at the helm of power. In so doing they send a blunt message to the people: in this country corruption is tolerated.

In recognition of the gravity of the problem, Transparency International, for the year 2007, dedicated its Annual Global Corruption Report (GCR) to the ills that plague the Judiciary systems worldwide. The 2007 GCR Corruption in Judicial Systems brings together scholars, legal professionals and civil society activists from around the world to examine how, why and where corruption mars judicial processes, and to reflect on remedies for corruption-tainted systems.

- See more at: 

http://archive.transparency.org/global_priorities/other_thematic_issues/judiciary#sthash.2TURY5cx.dpuf

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