Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia

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Table 5.1 (continued) b. Criminal Justice

Enforcement of judgment

• Judges “sell” judgments or other preferential treatment to parties. • Public officials or political authorities pressure or bribe witnesses. • Police or bailiffs take bribes to not bring witnesses (or defendants) to trial. • Lawyers or clients offer or agree to pay court staff to “lose” files. • Lawyers or clients offer (or agree) to pay to delay or accelerate issuance of written opinions (this may be delayed for a long time). • Private defense attorneys accept bribes from interested nongovernmental parties to mishandle cases. • Court staff members accept or request bribes to show judgments to parties (or to offer to sell an outcome already determined by the judge). • Lawyers solicit money from clients to bribe any of the actors but keep the funds. • Lawyers or parties offer or agree to pay to affect decisions on licenses to appeal and appellate judgments. • Political authorities or higher judicial leaders direct whether and how enforcement will be effected. • Parties offer or agree to pay to arrange early release, nonincarceration, or reduction or nonpayment of damages. c. Civil Justice Potential forms of corruption

Filing of claim and pretrial stages

• Public officials (in judiciary or outside) direct staff to admit or not admit cases. • Public authorities coerce or bribe private attorneys to file or not file cases. • Court staff offer bribes or other considerations to accept and process claims. • Lawyers accept bribes from other parties to mishandle cases or accept fees from parties on both sides. • Lawyers solicit money from clients to bribe judges or staff but instead pocket the money. • Lawyers encourage clients to take cases to court that they are bound to lose. • Process servers accept or solicit bribes for nonservice, faster service, false service, and so on. • Public officials (in judiciary or outside) direct staff to speed or delay initial processing of cases. • Lawyers or parties offer or agree to pay court staff for faster or slower scheduling of events or for misplacement of case files. (continued next page)

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Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia

Published on Jun 11, 2012

World Bank Publications

For decades, corruption in Ethiopia has only been discussed at the margins. Perhaps because many have not experienced corruption as a significant constraint to their lives and businesses, or perhaps because a culture of circumspection has dampened open dialogue, Ethiopia has neither seen the information flows nor the debate on corruption that most other countries have seen in recent years. This study attempts to fill this information gap. Conducted by the World Bank (with financial support from the UK, the Netherlands and Canada) in conjunction with the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission of Ethiopia (FEACC), the study is an independent overview of corruption. It attempts to map the nature of corruption in eight sectors in the country.