January 2012

Judicial independence and The consequence of the judicial oath

The independence of judges, or perhaps rather, an independent tribunal is not an end in itself, but only a part of the one objective above all; the concept of a fair trial. Without an independent judge/court, one is at best left with a worrying uncertainty whether the parties in a legal dispute have been offered a fair trial or not. The common man’s confidence in a court as well as the court’s legitimacy externally, depends entirely on its independence.