Lack of impartiality of the judiciary
Name(s):
Influencing the law
Lack of independence of judges and lawyers
Denial of the right to independent judges
Lack of impartiality of judge and jury
Control of the judiciary by the executive or military power
Political influence on the course of justice
Political judging
Nature
In a considerable number of situations in both developed and developing countries, the independence of the court is severely curtailed or non-existent, often in contradiction to the constitutional guarantees for the independence of the judiciary. Conviction and sentencing may be influenced or predetermined by the executive, who directly control the status of judges. Sometimes ordinary courts have been deprived of jurisdiction over certain categories of cases without any legal justification, and the cases later tried by military or special courts. In some instances, judges are intimidated to make decisions favourable to the executive.
The course of justice may also be affected by judicial activism whereby the legal elite, supported by academia, may develop sophisticated re-interpretations of the significance of the law in the light of particular ideologies and personal preferences.
Claim
Countries tend to be increasingly governed, not by law or elected representatives, but by an unelected, unrepresentative, unaccountable committee of lawyers applying no will but their own.
Aggravated by
Reference(s)
Type
(E) Emanations of other problems