The
Role of the Legal System
The first element requires that there be impartial legal machinery in place, which is to deal with all aspects of the legal system. Corruption is a criminal act, so the proper machinery must be in place to enforce it. Bribery laws must not only be in place but they must be enforced. In Sierra Leone we do have bribery laws, but they are not enforced. The more transparent the system, the greater openness of financial transactions, and thus the more difficult it is to hide corruption. The second element deals with the role of prosecution. The legal system requires an effective public prosecutor or the process will come to a standstill. In Sierra Leone, the situation is such that the Attorney General is responsible to prosecute all cases of corruption. In a strong case for conviction, the process can be derailed if the Attorney General does not follow through. He lamented the situation of the Attorney General, and stressed that Parliament must be active in overseeing and monitoring its activities so that they become more open and transparent. He further emphasised that the prosecution should be fully independent of the Executive. The third element relates to the judiciary. For even if the prosecutor is effective and incorruptible, all efforts are in vain if the judicial system is not functioning effectively because it is corrupt or lacks neutrality. The judiciary is made up of judges within the Appeals Court and the High Court. For these judges to be accountable, two specific conditions must be fulfilled: 1) the judiciary must be independent and free from interference from the Executive or any other person. He observed that many judges in Sierra Leone are retired people given extension or hired on a contract. The implications of that is that if a judge has a matter in which the government is interested, they will be looking over his shoulder and he will be unable to operate freely. Thus there exists an imperative need to have judges who are independent. He noted that some potential judges would be going before Parliament that very day, who must receive approval from two-thirds of Parliament to be ratified, so the country may have some new judges. He insisted, however, that those appointed as judges must be qualified, and must be seen to be people of high integrity. 2) The second prerequisite for an accountable judiciary is that the conditions and terms of service of judicial officers must be such that they are encouraged to be honest and accountable. They must be paid well for them to be efficient and not corrupt, and similarly the judicial system must receive enough resources to be effective. He also touched on the costs of corruption in Sierra Leone and the corresponding lack of transparency. He stressed the importance of developing a National Integrity System, and expected that NAG would work towards that to show how National Integrity Systems will minimize corruption in procedures. If there are no sanctions against offenders, corruption will surely prevail. He remarked that before the advent of the ACC, anti-corruption laws existed but were not enforced. While there is a new situation today, if people are not paid well and cannot meet their basic needs, the chances are that they will be corrupt. He speculated on the chicken or the egg theory: which comes first? Does corruption create low income, or vice versa? He stressed that the problem lies in the culture of corruption, and thus corruption must be stigmatized so that offenders will become outcasts. He ended by saying, “if we want to eradicate or reduce corruption, we must all be involved.”
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Mr.
Campbell began by discussing what is needed to make an effective
legal system. He mentioned that he would be talking about the
role of legal system, with particular regard to the enforcement
of anti-corruption legislation. He stated that the upcoming National
Anti-Corruption Strategy would depend greatly on the willingness
of the political leadership to take corruption seriously, by making
anti-corruption policy a priority and assigning sufficient resources
to the relevant institutions. If there is a lack of political
will and dedication from the political leadership, then the legal
system will fail to respond. The relationship between corruption
and law enforcement is a challenging one he said. The role of
law enforcement is crucial in legislating against corruption.
The law must be enforced to be effective. In addition the integrity
and perceived integrity of these institutions is also an issue.
Overall therefore the judicial system plays a very critical role.
The role played by the judiciary consists of three elements: