Mistrust bogs down justice system
Weaknesses in our judiciary have been shown to prop up corruption in the country.
A new study on the barriers undermining the push to fight the tide of rising corruption in Namibia highlights the role of the bottlenecks, backlogs and judicial missteps within the country's criminal justice system that have crippled public confidence.
Although the judiciary last month announced a refreshed undertaking to tackle the problems undermining public trust, the title of a new survey of the flaws in the criminal justice system, 'Creaking under its own weight', underscores the decades-long failure of the judiciary to improve its mandated delivery of swift and trusted justice for all.
The paper, by Frederico Links of the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), investigates “how backlogs, bottlenecks and capacity constraints undermine the criminal justice system's contributing to Namibian anti-corruption efforts”.
It was launched on Friday on the occasion of this year's commemoration of International Anti-corruption Day at the office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Links writes that although several attempts were launched to overhaul and address the challenges in the system, “they are still struggling to come to grips with system-wide institutional weaknesses”.
The paper notes that these deficiencies have created “widespread negative perceptions of the state's and specifically the criminal justice system's handling of especially corruption cases”.
Moreover, the “cloud of distrust” has created negative perceptions of the ethics of some judicial officers and fuels perceptions of corruption within the system, the paper concludes.
Denting goals
ACC director Paulus Noa described corruption as an “invisible” theft of valuable resources, a crime that debilitates development initiatives in Namibia.
Noa underlined the multiple role players required to fight corruption, from an individual member of public, to law enforcement and the judiciary.
If one fails, he noted, corruption will flourish. “When the public has reported allegations of corruption, because of decades which some of the cases take on the court roll, the public loses hope,” he said.
Noa stressed that a lack of public confidence, in law enforcement, and the criminal justice system also stifles the public's willingness to come forward and report crimes, including corruption.
Moreover, undue delays can lead to witnesses refusing to testify, vanishing or dying.
Links said backlogs and delays have a long history in Namibia.
The concern on the hamstringing issues that impair the rolling out of justice was already addressed by the former Namibian chief justice Johan Strydom in 2000 when he noted that two issues raised serious concerns for him.
“These are delays involved in the hearing and finalisation of both civil and criminal matters and the ever-increasing upward spiral of cost.”
He warned that unless these issues were resolved, but instead “get out of hand, that by itself would erode the rule of law and the high ideals set by our constitution”.
Results from the 2017 Afrobarometer, released by the IPPR earlier this year, found that only 30% of Namibians trust in the courts of law, while 74% of Namibians interviewed believe that “most or some judges and magistrates” are corrupt.
These figures, Links notes, “are alarming in their depiction of nationwide perceptions of judicial integrity”.
Justice delayed
The paper highlights the delays in some corruption cases, including the Avid-SSC corruption trial, which by the time the judgment was delivered in May 2018, had “been trundling through the courts for about ten years, while the matter, as a criminal justice sector concern, dated from 2004/5”.
Try again
The paper says that despite another attempt to overhaul the system and instil renewed faith in the criminal justice system's fight against corruption, “confronted with all the circumstantial evidence, it seems clear that the Namibian justice system is in a state of protracted undermining by its own long-standing challenges, which [in terms of corruption] does not bode well for the system's prospects in playing an effective role in fighting corruption in Namibia”.
To date, criminal cases dating back to 2010, 2011 and 2012 are found on the court roll. Figures released by the judiciary show that in 2016, 23.4% of cases were finalised and 61 cases brought forward from the previous legal year, while 20 new cases were registered at the Windhoek High Court.
In 2017, the Windhoek High Court brought forward 62 cases from the previous year, registered 22 new cases and finalised 20 cases.
Records from magistrate's offices show that between January and March 2017, 20 871 old criminal cases were brought forward, 5 983 new cases registered, and 6 918 cases finalised. Outstanding cases carried over numbered 19 936. Between April and June 2017, 20 070 outstanding criminal cases were carried forward in magistrate's courts, 5 635 new cases registered and 5 501 cases finalised.
Overall, in 2017, new cases registered numbered 24 794 and 25 402 cases were finalised.
In December 2017, the courts carried forward 20 263 cases to January 2018, with 5 684 finalised.
The research paper acknowledges that undue delays and bottlenecks are also significantly impacted by factors outside of the courtroom, including law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Although the judiciary last month announced a refreshed undertaking to tackle the problems undermining public trust, the title of a new survey of the flaws in the criminal justice system, 'Creaking under its own weight', underscores the decades-long failure of the judiciary to improve its mandated delivery of swift and trusted justice for all.
The paper, by Frederico Links of the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), investigates “how backlogs, bottlenecks and capacity constraints undermine the criminal justice system's contributing to Namibian anti-corruption efforts”.
It was launched on Friday on the occasion of this year's commemoration of International Anti-corruption Day at the office of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Links writes that although several attempts were launched to overhaul and address the challenges in the system, “they are still struggling to come to grips with system-wide institutional weaknesses”.
The paper notes that these deficiencies have created “widespread negative perceptions of the state's and specifically the criminal justice system's handling of especially corruption cases”.
Moreover, the “cloud of distrust” has created negative perceptions of the ethics of some judicial officers and fuels perceptions of corruption within the system, the paper concludes.
Denting goals
ACC director Paulus Noa described corruption as an “invisible” theft of valuable resources, a crime that debilitates development initiatives in Namibia.
Noa underlined the multiple role players required to fight corruption, from an individual member of public, to law enforcement and the judiciary.
If one fails, he noted, corruption will flourish. “When the public has reported allegations of corruption, because of decades which some of the cases take on the court roll, the public loses hope,” he said.
Noa stressed that a lack of public confidence, in law enforcement, and the criminal justice system also stifles the public's willingness to come forward and report crimes, including corruption.
Moreover, undue delays can lead to witnesses refusing to testify, vanishing or dying.
Links said backlogs and delays have a long history in Namibia.
The concern on the hamstringing issues that impair the rolling out of justice was already addressed by the former Namibian chief justice Johan Strydom in 2000 when he noted that two issues raised serious concerns for him.
“These are delays involved in the hearing and finalisation of both civil and criminal matters and the ever-increasing upward spiral of cost.”
He warned that unless these issues were resolved, but instead “get out of hand, that by itself would erode the rule of law and the high ideals set by our constitution”.
Results from the 2017 Afrobarometer, released by the IPPR earlier this year, found that only 30% of Namibians trust in the courts of law, while 74% of Namibians interviewed believe that “most or some judges and magistrates” are corrupt.
These figures, Links notes, “are alarming in their depiction of nationwide perceptions of judicial integrity”.
Justice delayed
The paper highlights the delays in some corruption cases, including the Avid-SSC corruption trial, which by the time the judgment was delivered in May 2018, had “been trundling through the courts for about ten years, while the matter, as a criminal justice sector concern, dated from 2004/5”.
Try again
The paper says that despite another attempt to overhaul the system and instil renewed faith in the criminal justice system's fight against corruption, “confronted with all the circumstantial evidence, it seems clear that the Namibian justice system is in a state of protracted undermining by its own long-standing challenges, which [in terms of corruption] does not bode well for the system's prospects in playing an effective role in fighting corruption in Namibia”.
To date, criminal cases dating back to 2010, 2011 and 2012 are found on the court roll. Figures released by the judiciary show that in 2016, 23.4% of cases were finalised and 61 cases brought forward from the previous legal year, while 20 new cases were registered at the Windhoek High Court.
In 2017, the Windhoek High Court brought forward 62 cases from the previous year, registered 22 new cases and finalised 20 cases.
Records from magistrate's offices show that between January and March 2017, 20 871 old criminal cases were brought forward, 5 983 new cases registered, and 6 918 cases finalised. Outstanding cases carried over numbered 19 936. Between April and June 2017, 20 070 outstanding criminal cases were carried forward in magistrate's courts, 5 635 new cases registered and 5 501 cases finalised.
Overall, in 2017, new cases registered numbered 24 794 and 25 402 cases were finalised.
In December 2017, the courts carried forward 20 263 cases to January 2018, with 5 684 finalised.
The research paper acknowledges that undue delays and bottlenecks are also significantly impacted by factors outside of the courtroom, including law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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