The survey, conducted in 62 countries, shows that 17% of those who answered have already given some cash to police officers to ensure they can get away with offences. Hungary’s corruption status in the region is quite favorable, yet it has the most easily corrupted police force. Judicial authorities have also been examined. The report identifies that although the financing of the judicial authorities have greatly improved since the 90’s – from a budget of Ft 30 billion ($161.6 million) to a 2006 figure of Ft 70 billion -, and the number of judges is up by 20%, the number of cases resolved within a definite period of time has not increased.

The corruption level in the judiciary and the legal systems, according to Transparency International’s 2007 report shows: the first place is occupied by Paraguay, where 90% of the people said there is corruption in the judicial system. At the bottom of the scale is Denmark, where less than 10% of the citizens believe corruption is bred in the judiciary.

To reduce opportunities for corruption in administrative processes, court procedures must be simplified and made comprehensible to the court user. As a means of increasing the transparency of court administration, courthouses in Bulgaria were extensively reconstructed so that each staff member could be observed by other staff members and the public. This significantly reduced the ability of court staff to engage in the mishandling of case files.

 

In Australia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Norway and Scotland, judges earned more than prosecutors while in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea and Ukraine, the levels were similar. In Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, salaries increased only a little over one’s career, whereas in the others there were significant increases with experience.

Judges and prosecutors in all countries except Bulgaria think people in their countries are not more law-abiding now than they were during communism. Further, there have been no major changes in the willingness to abide by the law during the last five years. Laws are primarily violated as a result of transition, and the EU accession process seems to have, if not reinforced, then at least not reduced, this trend. Seeking informal outcomes in the judiciary is fairly common in Bulgaria and Romania but less common in the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

In Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia, reforms have failed to address informal practices carried over from communism. Increasing judiciary independence, improving capacity and enhancing efficiency should reduce some of the scope for informal practices. But such measures need to be accompanied by efforts to educate the general public in the rule of law and to enhance its understanding of the judiciary and how to approach it. More specific confidence building measures are also called for: the judiciary should demonstrate to the general public that everybody is equal before the law. (Napi Gazdaság, novinite.com)