Justice delayed is justice denied

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous pathways, he will lift some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble life.

Under conditions of repressive stability, one measures the wellbeing of society by the performance of government. How repressive is it of human rights? Who does it persecute or oppress? How does it plunder the assets of society? Under conditions of consensual stability, it would be a mistake to equate the wellbeing of society with the performance of a democratic government.

Sometimes societies make steady and stable progress not because of but in spite of the performance of government. Democratic governments can sometimes behave so appallingly that the voters simply get rid of them by voters for another one.

All that one can hope for from a democratic government is that it develops the ability to recognize its mistakes sooner rather than later, and does not repeat them. What are the most common mistakes?

A confusing democratic representative with competence:

The fact that you are the duly elected representative does not automatically give you the competence to make your promises come true. A local councilor does not automatically have the competence to reticulate water, allocate electricity, or administer rates and taxes. And when he/she retrenches or fires the official who has such competence, you have a self-concocted crisis of delivery.

Rewarding loyalty above competence:

 The leader appoints those who are compliant and uncritically support him/her because he/she values control more than performance. Thus, manifestly incompetent cabinet ministers strut around pronouncing nonsense, and compound the problem by appointing officials who are of the same ilk.

A confusing authority with intelligence:

 A very common mistake. Young politicians who joined Parliament and within a short time became ministers or deputy ministers. Suddenly their whole demeanors changed. The back stiffened, the suits became more expensive, and they pronounced the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ as if they were pregnant with profundity. They automatically assumed that because they had authority, they must be clever.

Dealing with corruption selectively:

 As a leader, you know that the cabinet minister sitting next to you has his/her fingers in the till, but you deliberately divert attention from this person by jumping on minor official smuggling good to show that you are serious about corruption. The rule is simple: the bigger the fish you catch, the more seriously you will be taken as an angler. Corruption is corruption is corruption.

Sacrificing domestic policy for foreign policy: This is also a mistake of repressive governments, but as they are not accountable to anyone but themselves, it resonates far more strongly with a democratic government. The absent leader syndrome very quickly translates into a perception of indifference about domestic problems and crises.

That an independent Judiciary is indispensable for the implementation of human rights and the realization of a working democracy is universally acceptable.

For the Judiciary to be seen as fearless and independent it does not have to be anti-Government or hopelessly out of touch with the socio-economic and political conditions of the people it is supposed to serve. The worst thing that can happen to the Judiciary is when ordinary citizens no longer consider it to be credible, legitimate, or trustworthy. When the unsophisticated community of ordinary men and women hand down such a verdict on the Judiciary it will signal the beginning of the end for the constitutional state.

As Lord Denning rightly observed in the English case of Metropolitan vs. Lennon, ‘Justice must be rooted in confidence: and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking: “the judge was biased”

Unfortunately, some judiciary officers, see the judiciary as the “Cinderella” of the three arms of Government.

Independence of the Judiciary, in any jurisdiction where there is no courage on the part of its officers, is meaningless. It's like labor without fruit.

The judiciary has a vital role to play in the delivery of social justice to large masses of people. It must give up its old antiquated approach which beliefs in the policy of restraint and passive interpretation.