‘Education, higher pay for judges can speed up justice system’

MANILA, Philippines - Proper case monitoring, strengthening values and education in judges and law students, and increasing the pay of judges could help weed out corruption in the Philippine judiciary, a former Australian judge said yesterday.

Michael Kirby, Australia’s longest serving High Court judge, said corruption in the judiciary is one problem plaguing not only the Philippines, but also the entire Southeast Asian region as well.

Kirby, who retired from the High Court of Australia on Feb. 2, 2009, was in Manila for a five-day speaking engagement that ended yesterday.

While in Manila, he engaged in discussions on judicial integrity and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In an interview with The STAR in Makati, Kirby said delayed decisions could also trigger corruption among judges “so it is important to monitor cases.”

“People tend to pay money in the hope of getting their cases decided more quickly. If you have an efficient court system, it becomes less of a problem,” he said.

He admitted that proper case monitoring is something to be desired in developing countries like the Philippines.

“This is a worldwide issue but is particular in developing countries. They do not have the resources to spend on the proper court systems and the most up-to-date technology,” he said.

“Everyone knows that one of President Aquino’s signature policy is fighting corruption. But you can’t do that without finding and spending the money on improved technology, proper judicial salaries to remove temptations and on education of judges and law students.

“You have got to teach values and understanding of the obligation of total honesty and integrity,” he said.

 “When I retired as a judge in Australia, I have always thought that the proudest thing I could say was that I never received a phone call from a minister telling me how to decide a case and I was a judge for 34 years.

“I never received somebody giving a hint or a wink-wink and a brown paper envelope. In Australia, that would still be very shocking,” Kirby said.

 He added that it is not enough to increase the penalties against corruption and factors contributing to corruption should be addressed.

 “Corruption is not just a matter of increasing the penalties. It is a matter of addressing what causes corruption. That means you have to make sure that you have proper mechanisms in the legislature, in the Congress to update the law,” he said.

 He said unless the country has an effective and efficient method of changing and updating the law, people would tend to find economic solutions to problems. “That means slipping money or using influence,” he added.   

Meanwhile, Kirby said judges should be transparent in disclosing their assets as they are burdened with a great responsibility after being appointed to the judiciary.

 “Judges are part of the government of a country. They are not elected but they are appointed as the third branch of government. And they have great responsibilities and if other parts of the government have to declare, certainly the highest judges should declare their assets,” he said.