The Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL) of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) finalised today a 10 page policy framework to address the problem of corruption in the judiciary.
The framework addresses governments, international financial institutions, members of the judiciary, lawyers and other policymakers and urges them to take active steps to prevent and eliminate corruption in the judiciary. In particular it recommends:
- That independent mechanisms for the investigation of allegations of corruption be implemented,
- That statements of judicial ethics be drafted by the judiciary, providing for the imposition of sanctions where necessary,
- That governments criminalise conventional acts of corruption, and enact provisions for the disclosure and independent monitoring of assets and liabilities of judges and other officers within the judicial system,
- That the judiciary take an active role in formulating proposals for keeping the public informed and educated, and able to expose corruption in the judicial system,
- That governments create the conditions for an impartial judicial system through the provision of adequate funding and the selection and promotion of judges based upon merit, and
- That lawyers and bar associations educate their members and the general public on corrupt activities and actively take steps to prevent, expose, and discipline corruption.
This policy framework resulted from a meeting of 16 experts in Geneva-Switzerland from 23-25 February 2000 convened by CIJL. The participants came from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and the USA. They included the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, high judicial officials, renowned lawyers, and representatives of international financial institutions.