Judicial Transparency Means Greater Accountability and Public Faith in Judiciary

Judicial Transparency Means Greater Accountability and

A properly functioning justice system is a prerequisite for a genuine democracy;

one that ensures respect for the rule of law and the separation of powers. Only a good

system reinforces the belief and confidence of common men and the public at large in

judiciary. Only such a system can withstand the test of time and fight against the

undesirable trends in judiciary. The idea of Judicial Transparency has different phases

in our present judicial set up, of which transparency in court proceedings and

transparency in the selection of Judicial Officers and Judges are of paramount

importance.

Transparency in court proceedings

Transparency in court proceedings and accountability of Judges ensure better

and quality dispensation of justice   and time bound disposal of cases. It brings forth rule

of law and social justice to common men who are the ultimate beneficiaries of a flawless

and effective judicial mechanism in a society. Modernization of court and court

proceedings, digitalization of court halls, recording of court proceedings, establishment

of adequate infrastructure in tune with present requirements are some of the ways of

creating better transparency and greater faith in our judiciary. To achieve better judicial

system, we have to start with e-filing in courts, e-stamping or online remittance of court

fees, easy access to court proceedings and status of cases pending as well as disposed

in our finger tips, availability of judgments and orders published in the official websites

immediately after its pronouncement are some of the ways to make our judicial system

more transparent, corruption -free, efficient, and systematic in the present modern world

Transparency in the Selection of Judicial Officers and Judges

The criteria for the selection of judicial officers in the lower and subordinate

judicial courts as well as in higher judiciary especially in HC and SC should be merit and

quality alone. To ensure that only meritorious judicial officers and judges are selected

and that they are given the best available training for better and qualitative dispensation

of justice, there should be a transparent and effective selection process, just like the

selection process prevalent in our civil service. There should be a systematic and well

planned selection process in the appointment of judicial officers especially in higher

judiciary, because an error happened in the judgment of a lower or a subordinate court

can be rectified by a higher court at any time by bringing the matter before it. But it is a

worst scenario if the error is made by a higher judiciary. It consumes not only valuable

money and precious time of the poor litigant, but also demoralizes and tarnishes the

image and integrity of judiciary among the public.  It is therefore critical that only the

most qualified candidates are appointed to the highest courts. This can only be ensured

through a transparent selection process that is based on the merits of the candidates,

rather than on their association or sympathy with the government in office or powerful

special interests.



Adv Bijimon P
High court of Kerala