Kathmandu, May 24:

A country report on judicial corruption released here today said Nepal’s judiciary is one of the most corrupt sectors in the country.

The Global Corruption Report 2007 prepared by senior advocate Krishna Prasad Bhandary on behalf of Transparency International (TI) said though corruption and irregularities are rife in Nepal’s judiciary, initiatives are not being taken to curb such malpractices. “Although corruption affects every sector of governance, corruption in the judiciary poses an immediate threat to ordinary people because it directly affects their lives, poverty and liberty. It is a major hindrance in securing the rule of law,” the report said.

It added that in the past 15 years, the political parties’ vested interests and King Gyanendra’s political ambitions all conspired to produce an instability that encouraged impunity and corruption.

According to TI’s Global Corruption Barometer 2006, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore

and Thailand have relatively low levels of perceived judicial corruption. It says the judiciaries of India and Pakistan fare badly, with 77 per cent and 55 per cent of respondents, respectively, describing the judicial system as corrupt.

Today’s report also said that the dissolution of parliament in 2004 and the formation of the Royal Commission for Control of Corruption (RCCC) also promoted corruption. The report further stated that parliament did not impeach any SC justice in the past 15 years.

“Former SC Justices Krishna Kumar Verma and Bali Ram Kumar had to step down after media criticism in 2004. The Judicial Council, instead of investigating and prosecuting them, allowed them to quietly retire,” it said. The report said the judiciary is also politicised when it comes to appointing judges and taking action against those involved in irregularities.

“Political considerations, inconsistency in interpreting the constitution and laws, conservative attitude in the handling of public interest litigations and delayed delivery of decisions promote corruption,” it added.

“During King Gyanendra’s rule, royalist lawyers were appointed as judges and the King promoted the then attorney general Pawan Kumar Ojha to the SC amidst protests from the Nepal Bar Association.”

The report also said that partly as a consequence, poor citizens have taken their litigation to Maoist courts. It suggested formation of a high level independent body with authority to investigate, arrest and size property of corrupt judges.

“The seven party alliance, which still enjoys the support of the people’s movement, must show sufficient strength to promulgate new policies that truly curb corruption and irregularities in the judiciary.”

“There is no doubt that the justice system has failed, but the public still desires an independent, efficient and fair judiciary,” it concluded.