Showing posts with label judiciary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label judiciary. Show all posts

Friday, December 5, 2014

Bribery Gets You Day in Court in Afghanistan

The international community continues to pour money into Afghanistan in an effort to improve the police, judiciary and rule-of-law. However, progress is being made at a snail's pace. To get any results from a court in Afghanistan a citizen must wait, and wait, and  . . . or pay a bribe. Read more in "Donations buy justice in Afghanistan?", Aljazeera, December 3, 2014.

Traditional Justice in Afghanistan

There are three justice systems at work in Afghanistan. One is the Afghan government's judicial system which is under-funded, under-resourced, inefficient, incompetent, and extremely corrupt. A second is the "traditional justice system" that has existed for centuries in Afghanistan based at the local level. The third is the Taliban "shadow" judicial system; judged by many to be quick, fair, and harsh. There are supporters and detractors about the traditional justice system; which incorporates the use of jirgas and shuras. Read more in "How Fair is Traditional Justice in Afghanistan", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, December 4, 2014.


Friday, November 21, 2014

Death Penalty Works in Afghanistan

Some Afghans were recently hung for the crime of gang rape (and other transgressions). A group of men dressed as policemen stopped a group of cars carrying men and women from a wedding. The men were tied up and the women were gang raped in front of the men. The public outcry was huge and the offenders were quickly tried and hung. While the international community groaned and moaned about the rapists' human rights most Afghans seemed pleased. Law enforcement officials say that reported incidents of rape have dropped dramatically. In addition, there was a significant drop in crime. Read more in  "Death Penalty Works, Afghans Say"Institute for War & Peace Reporting, November 2014.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Ghani to Name Woman to Supreme Court

The Associated Report says that the new president of Afghanistan Ghani will appoint a woman to the Afghan supreme court. This will cause dismay among conservative Islamic leaders in Afghanistan and win applause from women's rights organizations. Read more in "New Afghan Leader to Name Woman to Supreme Court", AP, September 22, 2014.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

State Dept Justice Programs in Afghanistan Need Oversight

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has published a report entitled Support for Afghanistan's Justice Sector: State Department Programs Need Better Management and Stronger Oversight, SIGAR 14-26 Audit Report, January 2014. According to SIGAR " . . . the Department of State has spent at least $223 million on justice sector development programs in Afghanistan to train Afghan justice sector personnel such as judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys". The report finds some flaws in the management of the programs and in the oversight to ensure that the implementing partners are satisfying the contractual requirements and meeting the intent of the projects. You can read or download the report at the following link. www.sigar.mil/pdf/audits/SIGAR_14-26-AR.pdf

Saturday, November 27, 2010

How to Fix Afghanistan's Judiciary System - Recommendations by International Crisis Group

The International Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.  The ICG has just release a comprehensive report that identifies the problems with the Afghanistan judiciary system and provides recommendations on how to fix it.  A brief description taken from the Executive Summary of the report is provided below.  The link below will take you to the organizations website where you can view the entire Executive Summary and read the report or download it (Adobe Acrobat file). 
"Afghanistan’s justice system is in a catastrophic state of disrepair. Despite repeated pledges over the last nine years, the majority of Afghans still have little or no access to judicial institutions. Lack of justice has destabilised the country and judicial institutions have withered to near non-existence. Many courts are inoperable and those that do function are understaffed. Insecurity, lack of proper training and low salaries have driven many judges and prosecutors from their jobs. Those who remain are highly susceptible to corruption. Indeed, there is very little that is systematic about the legal system, and there is little evidence that the Afghan government has the resources or political will to tackle the challenge. The public, consequently, has no confidence in the formal justice sector amid an atmosphere of impunity. A growing majority of Afghans have been forced to accept the rough justice of Taliban and criminal powerbrokers in areas of the country that lie beyond government control."
See "Reforming Afghanistan's Broken Judiciary", Asia Report No 195, International Crisis Group, November 17, 2010.