Asian Development Bank

Judicial System

Objective (for the whole section):

To assess the degree to which the rule of law applies, as manifest by the operations and effectiveness of the judicial system.

Overall assessment (for the whole section):

• To what extent can and does the judiciary exercise independence in decision making?
• Does the judiciary have the administrative and substantive capacity to adequately handle all judicial cases? If not, what are the basic bottlenecks/weaknesses?
• How effective are on-going reforms efforts in addressing weaknesses in the judiciary?
• Is there political commitment to reforms and if so which areas are the most promising?
• How can ADB contribute (or further contribute) to the design and implementation of the reform process?

Guide Questions:

A. Organization of court system:

• How many levels of courts are there? Is the system decentralized at regional and/or local level? Are there informal village courts?
• How is the court system administered, e.g. through the ministry of justice or an autonomous government agency?
• Are cases assigned to judges and courts on an impartial basis – a) for higher courts, b) for lower courts?
• Is there an appropriate court infrastructure? To what degree courts and the justice system use information technology (easy access to jurisprudence, case histories etc)

B. Budget, finances and accountability:

• How is the budget for the judiciary prepared, as part of the national budget or separately?
• How capable is the judiciary of preparing its budget?
• Is the judicial budget protected from cuts affecting the national budget?
• Are there any independent sources of revenue for delivery of judicial services, e.g. court fees? Are such fees retained by the court system or paid into the national budget?
• Does the judiciary publish an annual report on its work and finances? Are its financial reports audited by an independent body?

C. Appointment and remuneration of judges:

• Are members of the superior level judiciary independent of political parties and control by the government in respect of: appointment, removal from office, remuneration?
• In the case of superior court judges, is appointment done through an independent, consultative process?
• Are lower level court judges or officials appointed on merit?
• What formal qualifications and experience is required of court judges? Is there continuing training for judges? What is the quality of this training? Is it well attended?
• Do judges have tenure? Have there been recent instances of their being removed by government?
• Are judges and court officials paid as public/civil servants? Or do they have a special pay system designed to ensure neutrality/independence? Do judges receive salaries close to (e.g. within 20%) of comparable private sector professionals (e.g. lawyers, doctors)?
• Are judges permitted to supplement their salaries with other income, e.g. from private work?

D. Efficiency and effectiveness:

• Are time limits set, under judicial procedures, for the resolution of legal actions?
• Are contract rights enforced? What about property rights?
• How long does it typically take for the courts to resolve a criminal case such as petty theft? What about cases of grand larceny and misappropriation? How long does it take for the courst to resolve a civil case such as tenant-landlord disputes? What about tax evasion cases?
• How accessible is the justice system to people in the rural areas? What about to the poorer classes?
• Does a witness protection program exist?
• Is the court system reinforced by a police system that is independent of political pressure, i.e. a) has its own budget, b) manages its own merit-based staffing system, c) removal from office of senior ranks is by an independent group established in law?