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Country reports on judicial corruption
Secondly, the law officer himself may solicit from the defendant. In spite of enjoying a high status and a relatively high salary, law officers in Niger have little job security compared with counterparts in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Many seek to make as much money as they can while they are in the job.
only emerge when judges, law officers and civil society understand the importance of a reliable, impartial and non-corrupt judiciary. The development of civil society and of unions of judges and law officers are both signs of a demand for more independence, but lack of resources and an unstable political history make this difficult to achieve. The following measures can be recommended:
At the start of career a law officer in Niger is paid a monthly salary of CFA75,000 (about US $138). Allowances vary according to the posting. Practising in Niamey, a law officer will receive an average pre-tax salary of CFA205,000 (about US $375). After monthly rent and related charges, there will remain only CFA140,000 (US $260) to cover food and transportation, and to support a family in the broadest sense (father, mother, wife, brothers, sisters and children). Salaries in Niger have not increased for nearly 20 years.9 This gives rise to ‘meal-ticket corruption’. Judges, lawyers, clerks, secretaries and go-betweens10 may all be involved in petty corruption.
● Sufficient resources should be granted to the
Recommendations
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Because of political meddling and the appalling consequences that a weak and corrupt system has on the whole of society, these problems must be taken seriously. It is widely believed that several million dollars that should have been allocated to improving access to core services have been embezzled for political or personal benefit. The lack of independence of the judiciary has economic costs, infringes human rights and limits equality of access to justice for all. The contempt politicians show for the principle of the separation of powers, as well as the culture of impunity, means that legal and judicial insecurity take root.
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Niger has only recently become a democracy. A culture of independence and transparency will
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judicial system (since Niger became independent in 1960, the Ministry of Justice budget has never exceeded 1 per cent of the total budget) Judges, law officers and government officials should be required to declare their assets. This should be accompanied by effective monitoring and the imposition of penalties when fraud has been confirmed by a credible authority Salaries of judges and law officers should be raised Transparent rules should be introduced on the appointment of judges and law officers Recruitment examinations should be made more rigorous Penalties should be applied systematically on any judge or law officer found guilty of dishonesty Appellate court judges should sit as a bench of three, rather than one alone.
The authorities are aware of the problems in the judiciary, as evidenced by a circular in 2002. ‘The people do not seem to have complete confidence in the system, even holding it up to public contempt, so disappointed are they with its procedures and the conduct of some of those involved. They have the impression that trials are not decided by the strict enforcement of the laws of the republic, but rather reflect power struggles between forces such as money or political
9 Statement of trade unions during the 1 May 2006 celebrations. 10 Go-betweens act as intermediaries between law officers and litigants, guiding the latter as they proceed. Some, passing themselves off as a friend of the judge, take bribes in his name, allowing the payer to think that the money will be passed on. See Tidjani Alou, op. cit.