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Resolution 2098 (2016)
Judicial corruption: urgent need to implement the Assembly’s proposals
1. The Parliamentary Assembly considers
judicial corruption a matter of great concern. It undermines the foundations
of the rule of law and the very possibility of fighting corruption
in other sectors of society.
2. Judicial corruption severely impedes the protection of human
rights, in particular judicial independence and impartiality. It
also undermines public trust in the judicial process and infringes
the principles of legality and legal certainty.
3. While recognising that the perception of judicial corruption
cannot serve as the sole indicator for the actual extent of this
phenomenon, the Assembly is alarmed that public trust in the integrity
of the judiciary continues to be very low in a number of member
States, with the judiciary being perceived, according to Transparency
International’s 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, as being among
the most corrupt institutions in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Georgia, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, Portugal, Romania,
the Russian Federation, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain
and Ukraine. In the case of Romania, this may be partly explained
by the country’s considerable efforts to increase transparency.
It is important, however, that the existence of judicial corruption
be assessed in the context of the relevant legal framework which
exists in a given country and, more importantly, the effectiveness
of tools used to combat corruption.
4. Judicial corruption takes complex forms and comprises corruption
related both to cases and to the career of a judge. Council of Europe
member States must channel their efforts with regard to both of
these aspects and provide effective mechanisms which allow for identification
and investigation of cases of corrupt practices in the judiciary,
and adequate sanctions for perpetrators.
5. The Assembly deplores the fact that crucial aspects in the
fight against judicial corruption, most notably concerning the implementation
of anti-corruption legislation and access to data, identified in
its Resolution 1703 (2010) and Recommendation 1896 (2010) on
judicial corruption, are still left unaddressed by member States.
6. In order to fight judicial corruption, the Assembly invites
member States to, in particular:
6.1. sign
and ratify, if they have not yet done so, the relevant conventions
of the Council of Europe, namely the Civil Law Convention on Corruption
(ETS No. 174) and the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS
No. 173) and its Additional Protocol (ETS No. 191);
6.2. implement fully and in a timely manner all relevant recommendations
of the organs and monitoring bodies of the Council of Europe, especially:
6.2.1. the Assembly’s resolutions and recommendations, most notably Resolution 1703 (2010) and Recommendation 1896 (2010),
and Resolution 1943 (2013) and Recommendation 2019 (2013) on
corruption as a threat to the rule of law;
6.2.2. the recommendations issued by the Committee of Ministers,
in particular Recommendation No. R (2000) 10 on codes of conduct
for public officials and Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 on judges:
independence, efficiency and responsibilities;
6.2.3. the recommendations adopted by the Group of States against
Corruption (GRECO), in particular those emanating from its fourth
evaluation round which focuses, inter
alia, on corruption within the judiciary;
6.2.4. the recommendations contained in the opinions on national
legislation issued by the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission);
6.2.5. the guidelines and reports adopted by the European Commission
for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) in its work on the evaluation
of judicial systems;
6.2.6. the recommendations issued by the Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights with regard to the administration of justice, the
functioning of judicial systems and the prevention of corrupt practices
within the judiciary;
6.3. give full effect to the judgments of the European Court
of Human Rights, especially those which impact on the prevention
and eradication of judicial corruption;
6.4. align their national legislation and practice with the
standards developed in the relevant international instruments and
monitoring bodies, especially with regard to the criminalisation
of corruption, immunities of judges, organisation of disciplinary
bodies, conflicts of interest, declaration of assets and aspects
related to a judge’s career (recruitment, promotion, dismissal);
6.5. strengthen legislation to sanction corruption and provide
all necessary means and support for its proper implementation by
effectively investigating and prosecuting those responsible for
corruption in the judiciary;
6.6. adapt legislation and practice so as to allow an appropriate
assessment of corrupt practices within the judiciary that are particularly
difficult to decipher, such as those related to exchange of favours, hierarchical
pressure or external interference;
6.7. improve the status of the judicial profession as well
as the selection and training of judges, so as to ensure ethical
behaviour of judges, and strictly scrutinise any practices related
to a judge’s career which pose a risk of corruption or affect the
independence and impartiality of judges throughout their careers;
6.8. put into place appropriate procedures to eradicate political
interference and undue influence in the judicial process;
6.9. keep track of, and follow up on, the implementation of
anti-corruption measures by making available data pertaining to
the number and nature of alleged and proven cases of judicial corruption,
in order to make a proper assessment of the phenomenon;
6.10. where perception of the existence of widespread judicial
corruption persists, take all necessary measures to restore public
trust in the judicial system; monitor closely and consistently the
evolution of perception indicators and develop a viable strategy
to remedy the lack of public trust in the judiciary;
6.11. continue to collaborate closely with the Council of Europe
monitoring bodies, especially GRECO, and provide them with all the
information needed for their work, and engage actively in redressing
the shortcomings identified;
6.12. guarantee an environment in which cases of (alleged) judicial
corruption can be uncovered, so as to foster a climate in which
the root causes of judicial corruption can be eradicated.
7. The Assembly notes that the Secretary General of the Council
of Europe has explored, in his two annual reports on the “State
of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe” published
to date, the existence of corruption in member States, and urges
him to indicate clearly, in future reports, the member States in
which problems relating to, in particular, judicial corruption have
been identified.
8. The Assembly will continue to monitor closely the progress
made by member States in the implementation of this resolution.