Topic Guide: Judicial Corruption

Independence and accountability of the judiciary – ENCJ report 2013-2014. European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ), 2014. http://www.encj.eu/images/stor...  

The report details indicators for measuring the independence and accountability of the judiciary and judges in EU justice systems, as well as an overview of risks threatening the independence of the judiciary.  

Fourth evaluation round on prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. Group of States against Corruption, launched in 2012 http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/moni...  

GRECO evaluation procedures involve the collection of information through questionnaires, country visits – enabling evaluation teams to solicit further information during high-level discussions with domestic key players – and drafting of evaluation reports. Country reports contain recommendations to the evaluated countries in order to improve their level of compliance with the provisions under consideration. Measures taken to implement recommendations are also subsequently assessed by GRECO under a separate compliance procedure. The fourth evaluation round focuses on prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors.  

Diagnostic checklist for assessing safeguards against judicial corruption. Transparency International, 2007.  in Transparency International, Combating corruption in judicial systems: advocacy toolkit, pages 23-32. http://www.u4.no/recommended-r...  

Transparency International developed a diagnostic checklist together with a group of judicial experts, including judges, lawyers and academics, from around the world. It is intended to be an inexpensive and quickly implemented assessment tool that provides a snapshot of risks of corruption or weaknesses in integrity or oversight systems in the judicial sector. It focuses on “(1) the system requirements for a clean judiciary; and (2) the responsibilities of actors involved in the judicial system”.  

Criminal justice assessment toolkit. UNODC, 2006. http://www.unodc.org/documents...  

The Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit (CJAT) is a diagnostic tool that consists of detailed sets of questions about different sectors of the criminal justice system. The overall aim is not to assess corruption risks but, nevertheless, the tool dealing with the courts includes questions about the risks of corruption and the existence and effectiveness of oversight mechanisms in criminal courts. A major strength is that the tool shows profound understanding of the differences between and within the common law and civil law systems, as well as hybrid systems and traditional or customary law systems, and so may be used in many different countries. The CJAT contextualises the great number of key UN – and other – standards, guidelines and norms concerning the responsibilities of official actors and the rights of victims, witnesses and the accused in the criminal justice system.