Introduction
All sectors of society rely on the courts to sanction corrupt officials, politicians, citizens and businesspeople, who steal resources and weaken integrity in public and private life. When the judicial system is corrupt, justice cannot be served. Corruption in the judiciary is especially damaging for two main reasons: it prevents fairness in legal processes, and it disables the main mechanism to enforce anti-corruption laws. In some countries, the judiciary is perceived among the most corrupt institutions in society, and it is among the public bodies in which bribes are most frequently solicited.
The key issues in judicial anti-corruption reform centre around balancing the wide discretionary power afforded to judges to enable them to act independently and the need for oversight mechanisms to hold judges to account. A challenge for anti-corruption reformers is identifying the particular opportunities for judicial system actors to act corruptly. Key forms of corruption include:
- political interference to influence the outcome of a civil case or a criminal trial.
- bribery intended to influence the process and outcome of court cases.
- extortion to act corruptly under the threat of violence or the release of damaging information.
- nepotism to enable close contacts or family members to benefit from any largesse it is in their discretion to distribute
- misuse of public funds and resources that result in trials being delayed or collapsing.
For further information, please see the Topic Guide on Fighting Judicial Corruption.
To know more about TI’s Judiciary Programme: please see https://www.transparency.org/w...
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