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ENHANCING JUDICIARY`S ABILITY TO CURB CORRUPTION - A PRACTICAL GUIDE
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INTEGRITY
1.
Judicial officials shall not request, nor accept directly or through close relatives or any other
middlemen, any gift or financial or non-financial reward for performing their duties. (D1)
2.
Undue influence and corruption of judicial officials are subject to prosecution and sanctions.
Prosecution and sanctions apply both to the judicial official being corrupted and those
exerting the influence. (D2)
3.
A detailed code of conduct for all judicial officials should be in force. (D3)
4.
Conflicts of interests are forbidden
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. (D4)
5.
Declarations of interests and wealth are mandatory for the judicial officials and shall be
checked by the Judicial Council. (D5)
6.
Corrupting judicial officials should be a criminal offence. (D6)
7.
The judicial officials shall not accept, nor hold any other office, except for academic positions,
as long as they do not create a bias which affects his/her impartiality and independence. (D7)
8.
Judicial officials shall not enjoy any immunity regarding corruption offences. (D8)
9.
Parties shall have the right for an exceptional appeal against a decision issued by a judge
who has been sanctioned for corruption in connection with that case.(D9)
10.
Specific regulations against revolving doors shall be adopted with regard to judicial officials
to prevent situations in which even the appearance of impartiality of the court is challenged,
such as former judges performing as attorneys and representing their clients in front of their
former colleagues. (D10)
ACCOUNTABILITY
Regarding the judicial process
1.
Decisions are reasoned and indicate both the facts and the applicable law
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. (E1)
2.
Decisions must include consideration of all evidence. (E2)
3.
Reasons are provided in writing so that parties can read and understand them (E3)
4.
The reasons are written in plain language and accessible to laypersons. (E4)
5.
In legal systems where the lay judges or jurors are not requested or not permitted to provide
reasons for their decisions, the proper administration of the case shall allow the accused to
determine the factual and legal basis on which he / she is convicted on (E5)
6.
Prosecutors` decisions are subject to hierarchical or court review (E6)
7.
Any party has the right to an effective appeal against a first instance decision. (E7)
8.
The appeal is heard by a panel of judges, whose number is fixed by law (E8)
9.
The grounds for appeal are provided by law (E9)
10.
The proceedings are recorded and their transcripts are kept available. (E10)
11.
In common law systems, the judicial precedent is always considered by the court before
a sentence is issued, in order to ensure equal treatment for the same crimes. In civil law
systems, where judicial precedent is not mandatory, the courts shall always look for unitary
practice in order to ensure predictability and equal treatment for the same crimes
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. (E11)
26. For details see point 3 and 4 at Impartiality
27. See also point 6 at Lawfulness
28. Where the legal framework is disputable, in order to ensure unitary practice, the Supreme Court may issue an
interpretation decision mandatory for the lower courts in terms of the understanding of the law.