A new report by the International Bar Association (IBA) focuses on the concrete processes available to hold judges to account for any misconduct, whether warranting disciplinary action or criminal sanctions.

Judicial corruption, which negatively affects the effective administration of justice and undermines the rule of law, will be discussed today by judges and legal experts at the online launch event of Maintaining judicial integrity and ethical standards in practice: an IBA study on criminal and disciplinary measures.

Principles

A report by Gabriela Knaul, the former United Nations-appointed Special Rapporteur on the Independence of judges and lawyers, states that judicial corruption:

• Erodes the principles of independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary,
• Infringes on the right to a fair trial,
• Creates obstacles to the effective and efficient administration of justice, and,
• Undermines the credibility of the entire justice system. 

In 2015, at the behest of then IBA president David W Rivkin, the IBA embarked on the Judicial Integrity Initiative (JII), which sought to use the resources and experience of the IBA’s global network of legal professionals to contribute to work already undertaken in countering corruption in judiciaries worldwide.