ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how structural defects in the system of justice – the organization and efficiency of the courts – can negate the power of judges to arrive at decisions based solely on the facts and the law, before looking at the ways judges themselves may be biased. Inefficiency in the judicial process amounts to a denial of natural justice and basic rights. A judge is, by training and inclination, a person with an interest in governance and public affairs. In extreme cases, the judiciary operates as part of the executive in highly politicized cases, such as terrorism, corruption or offences against the monarchy or Islam, as in Morocco, where judges work closely with the Ministries of the Interior and Justice and the security services. A number of newly democratizing countries, including Ecuador, Georgia, Nigeria and Peru, have increased judicial salaries significantly in order to reduce judicial corruption.
