KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

PART IV. CORRUPTION IN <strong>KYRGYZSTAN</strong>:
MAJOR FEATURES, IMPLICATIONS
AND CHALLENGES
Kairat Osmonaliev,
Doctor of Law, Associate Professor,
head of YurInfo Legal Clinic
Judicial Corruption in Kyrgyzstan: Magnitude,
Types and Countermeasures
Introduction
The Annual Report on corruption worldwide in 2007, prepared by the well-known
international anticorruption organization Transparency International, focussed on
corruption in the judicial system. It was fortunate that this issue was examined, since it
is extremely important today.
The main conclusion of the report is that corruption in the judiciary undermines
chances of the international community to combat transnational crime, obstructs access
to justice, and blocks changes in human rights laws. Corruption in the judiciary means
that the voices of innocent victims are not heard, and criminals may go unpunished
[14]. Moreover, corruption undermines judicial systems globally, depriving people of
an opportunity to access justice and violating a key human rights: the right to a fair
trial.
It is worth mentioning that corruption in courts is especially detrimental to all of
society, since people often view courts as their last resort when they seek justice. It
is well-known that, in many respects, unfair court rulings in favor of particular propresidential
parliament candidates forced people to revolt. This led to the 2005 collapse
of the existing regime. Furthermore, experience demonstrates that foreign, and even
domestic, investors refuse to do business in the country because of over-lengthy and
unpredictable judicial procedures [13]. Obviously, the corrupt judicial system makes it
impossible to tackle corruption in other government institutions.
Therefore, studying judicial corruption and the efficiency of countermeasures, as
well as developing and implementing relevant recommendations, are key elements to
strengthening the state.
144