Global Corruption Report Features Papers by Two Rule of Law Initiative Alumni
07.09.2007
Two members of the Rule of Law Initiative community have contributed to the Global Corruption Report 2007: Corruption in Judicial Systems, released by Transparency International on May 24, 2007. The report, over 300 pages in length, stresses that corruption poses a serious threat to judicial systems throughout the world, subverting the cornerstones of healthy justice systems: fairness, impartiality, equal rights, and access to impartial trial.
Mary Noel Pepys, a former legal specialist (liaison), Judicial Reform Index assessor, and long-time member of the CEELI Advisory Board, wrote the introduction to the report, entitled Corruption Within the Judiciary: Causes and Remedies. In her paper, Pepys identifies seven factors contributing to judicial corruption, detailing remedies to judicial corruption that can be employed regardless of the type of judicial system. The factors identified are:
- Undue influence by the executive and legislative branches
- Social tolerance of corruption
- Fear of retribution
- Low judicial and court staff salaries
- Poor training and lack of rewards for ethical behavior
- Collusion among judges
- Inadequately monitored administrative court procedures
Pepys outlines a number of anti-corruption remedies that fall within three broad categories 1) enhancing the independence of the judiciary, 2) introducing accountability mechanisms, 3) enhancing competency of external controls. Within these broad categories, Pepys points to a number of important specific anti-corruption measures, including: the systematic distribution of laws and amendments on a timely basis to all judges; the establishment of voluntary judicial associations; active bar associations that serve as “catalysts for change,” which can “defend the independence of judges and lobby government to provide the support necessary to ensure their effectiveness.”
Eric Frye, former Croatia Country Director for CEELI, also contributed to the report, co-authoring an article Enforcement of Anti-Corruption Laws: The Need for Performance Monitoring. The article focuses on the importance of data analysis in anti-corruption efforts, stating that “to ensure that anti-corruption laws are indeed being effectively enforced, governments need to begin monitoring the enforcement process. Enforcement data can help administrators discover trends and allocate limited resources based on actual enforcement activities and developments rather than on perceptions.” Frye, now a consultant at the World Bank, co-authored the report with Tiernan Mennen, also a World Bank consultant, and Richard Messick a senior public specialist in the World Bank’s Public Sector Governance Group.
To read the full contributions by Pepys and Frye, download the report from Transparency International’s website. The Rule of Law Initiative works closely with Transparency International in individual countries and at the headquarters level.
For more information, please contact the Rule of Law Initiative Outreach Department, at <rol@staff.abanet.org>.
