Role of Courts to Fight Corruption

 

Courts are accountability institutions. Together with other institutions, they hold the government as well as private parties accountable for corrupt actions.

World Bank Institute Working Paper "Anticorruption Reform in Rule of Law Programs"

This working paper published by the World Bank Institute (WBI) in 2006 (22 p.) outlines the role and importance of rule of law programs in the fight against corruption. The judiciary is obviously key in this context, but the author also highlights specific anticorruption measures adopted by the World Bank.

Principle Institutions and Mechanisms of Accountability

This paper describes the main objectives behind creating accountability institutions and provides a succinct description of the various institutions generally used to make governments and administrative bodies more accountable, from courts and ombudsmen to auditors and complaint procedures.

Group of States Against Corruption-GRECO

GRECO is a group of states, whose members agree to monitoring of their compliance with Guiding Principles in the Fight Against Corruption and the implementation of international legal instruments adopted in the pursuance of the Programme of Action Against Corruption. Ad hoc teams of experts are appointed based on a list prepared by GRECO member countries to evaluate each member state. To read more about the GRECO initiative, click the link attached below. Two completed evaluations are available here as a sample. For more country reports and updates, please visit the site.

   GRECO 

   Norway Evaluation

   Bulgaria Evaluation

The Bangladesh Supreme Court: The Strongest Link in the Accountability Chain

This excerpt from a March 2002 World Bank publication discusses the role of the Bangladesh Supreme Court in holding the government accountable. The Supreme Court has shown an increasing readiness to order the government to justify its actions, analogous with the highly activist Supreme Court in neighboring India. It accepts cases filed directly with it, and some far-reaching decisions have been issued. The excerpt also discussed the current judicial reform program, and possibilities for targeting the Supreme Court in order to enhance its role as an agent for accountability.

Using an Ombudsman to Oversee Public Officials

This policy note describes the powers an ombudsmen exercises and the role an ombudsmen serves. It outlines the differences between an ombudsman and other accountability mechanisms and then reviews the conditions necessary for an effective ombudsmen to function.

 

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