Appointing individuals who may have links to the party in power is not necessarily troublesome, as long as the process emphasizes legal knowledge and fairness, and not partisan considerations.
Unlike in most countries, US Supreme Court justices enjoy life tenure. Some legal scholars believe that centuries-old custom, meant to protect judicial independence, no longer serves the public.
The appointment of judges has hitherto been an obscure and oftentimes clandestine affair. This has produced incompetent judges and led to claims that the judiciary is beholden to the executive.
The judicial process in South Africa is hugely contested. This places an exaggerated burden on the courts to act with maximum independence and impartiality.
If President Trump’s attacks on the justice system are meant to intimidate, there’s one class of employees who are immune to that: federal judges who have lifetime tenure.
Mexico’s new president has reduced his own salary and demanded that all federal workers
– including lawmakers and judges – take a massive pay cut, too. That may be illegal.
An effective, accountable National Prosecutions Authority needs at least two things: structural independence and competent personnel with expertise and integrity.
With its attempt to purge the country’s courts of 40 percent of its judges, Poland’s right-wing ruling party passed another milestone on the path towards establishment of a one-party state.
It is obviously important to protect the institutional integrity and independence of the judiciary – but the judiciary and judicial decisions should not be immune from criticism.
Jan van Zyl Smit, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
Despite some criticism, the screening of 50-odd judges and nearly 300 magistrates was a remarkable achievement. But Kenya’s new Chief Justice has some cleaning up left to do.
One of the remarkable achievements of South Africa’s Constitutional Court has been its role in improving the quality of the internal democratic processes within the governing ANC.
The debate about the quality of High Court judges after the Pistorius trials reflects a different cultural clash in South Africa – one in which incompetence is often associated with black people.
Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor in Political Science and Affiliate Law Faculty, Penn State