NCJ Number
201049
Journal
Forum on Crime and Society Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 57-83
Date Published
December 2002
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article describes an integrated approach to dealing with judicial corruption.
Abstract
In many countries, the criminal justice institutions that are relied upon to enforce the rule of law have developed, at the least, a lack of integrity, and in some cases, full-blown corruption. The author argues that corruption on the judicial level threatens the sanctity of the state and democracy. Corruption hampers economic decisionmaking, undermines market competition, and weakens economic growth. Indeed, corruption in one sector of society has deleterious affects on the whole of society. As such, safeguards against corruption and the loss of judicial integrity must be explored. The author examines the recommendations of the Judicial Group on Strengthening Judicial Integrity on how to develop and implement an integrated approach to bolstering judicial integrity and capacity. The example of the current situation in Nigeria is used to show how this integrated approach can be applied to bolster judicial integrity. The author presents the findings from a survey of 33 judges in Nigeria that speak to the challenges of their judiciary and the performance indicators they identified as variables for measuring progress. Finally, the author recounts some lessons learned through the application of the integrated approach in a number of pilot countries. In conclusion, the author asserts that the most important lesson to be learned from the pilot studies is the fact that corruption is situated within the culture, and therefore strategies to combat corruption must speak to the cultural uniqueness of each setting. References