Opening
court services to peer scrutiny might greatly improve integrity and public
trust, new report says
08 APRIL 2016, Bangkok: Corrupt judicial systems undermine
reforms and are a major impediment to ensuring access to justice and human
rights for ordinary citizens across the world, says a new report published by
the United Nations Development Programme and U4 Anti-corruption Resource Centre
on Friday.
Titled, A Transparent and
Accountable Judiciary to Deliver Justice for All, the global report cites
survey data suggesting that the public perceive the judiciary as the second
most corrupt public institution, after the police.
Globally one in four people said
they paid a bribe to court officials, according to a 2013 survey by the NGO
Transparency International that covered 95 countries.1
By 2015, TI found that 28% of citizens across Sub-Saharan Africa who had
contact with a judge or court official paid a bribe – more than police and any
other public sector service.2
“Judicial corruption
disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalised citizens of a
community because they are far less likely to be able to pay a bribe or have
access to influential networks,” said Patrick Keuleers, Director, Governance
and Peacebuilding at UNDP headquarters.
In Bangladesh, for example, the
average bribe of US$108 that a court user has to pay accounts for roughly a
quarter of the GDP per capita or average annual income in that country, says
the report.
“The UN system and its partners
support numerous initiatives to strengthen judicial systems around the world,
and corruption remains a major stumbling block to the success of these
efforts,” Keuleers said.
The UNDP report concludes, however,
that opening up judicial systems to scrutiny can strengthen integrity and
increase public trust without impeding independence of the judiciary.
“We are advocating the judiciary to
open itself to peer learning by engaging with counterparts in other countries
and allowing meaningful capacity assessments that will lead to increased
judicial integrity” said Phil Matsheza, Regional Practice Leader in UNDP’s
Bangkok Regional Hub.
The report highlights successful
experiences from Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Indonesia,
Kenya, Kosovo3, Nepal, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, and Somalia,
in promoting transparency and accountability within the judiciary.
It discusses internal oversight within the judiciary such as judicial
councils, and explains the mechanisms used in Somaliland to enforce sanctions
against judicial officers in cases of misconduct.
It also looks at how stakeholders such as associations of judges and
court users can become allies in reforming judicial systems. For example, the
report cites the use of surveys and consultations with court users that have
led to more responsive services and reduced demands for bribes in countries
such as Kenya and Nigeria.
"Corruption undermines justice in many parts of
the world with the poor and vulnerable suffering most,” said Cobus de Swardt,
Managing Director of the International Secretariat of Transparency
International. “This new report gives critical first-hand
answers about promoting integrity in the courts by building citizen and other
stakeholders’ support for reforms and by using technology to increase judicial
transparency.”
Even in post-conflict environments such as Afghanistan, where change is
difficult, NGOs working with citizens to monitor trials in selected provinces
have contributed to improving the administration of justice.
While technology is not offered as a
panacea to corruption within justice systems, modernisation and automation of
judicial services can be key enablers for judicial transparency and
accountability, the report adds. For example, in
Indonesia digitising court documents and statistics has helped increase
transparency for people who can access judgments online, reduce bureaucracy,
and achieve efficiency.
The report stresses that the success
of these reforms efforts are predicated on strong political will and national
ownership.
The recently adopted 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development includes key targets for providing access to justice,
and tackling corruption. The report provides a fresh perspective on ways to
develop integrity plans as part of broader judicial reforms, by illustrating
inspirational experiences that countries can adopt to deliver justice for all.
For additional information, please
contact Elodie Beth, UNDP Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor, at elodie.beth@undp.org.
* * *
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Notes:
1. Perception survey Global
Corruption Barometer, Transparency International, 2013. http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/report.
3. The reference to Kosovo is understood
to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).
