Justice systems serve as key pillars to safeguard rights and guarantee that the legal needs of citizens are met. The effective and fair justice system requires consideration of the full continuum of services, ranging from accessibility of legal information and legal assistance to formal (such as courts) and alternative dispute resolution, and their enforcement mechanisms (OECD, 2019).
Courts remain a core element of justice systems serving as the ultimate resort for individuals and companies to solve disputes, protect and enforce their rights. The effective functioning of courts and fair application of the law, in turn, requires judges to be independent from external pressure. A survey of European judges in 2017 found that undue pressure might from the court management and political parties or their lawyers. A third of respondents also doubted that councils for the judiciary have the appropriate mechanisms to defend their independence (ENCJ, 2017).
Freedom from undue government influence on administrative justice lawsuits and effective enforcement of civil justice, as measured by the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index, are highly correlated. On average, OECD countries have shown a slight deterioration between 2015 and 2019 in these indicators. Belgium (+0.09 points on freedom of improper influence and +0.14 on effective enforcement) has made the largest progress in both dimensions.
From the various types of justice that the judiciary system deals with, criminal justice is one of the most sensitive ones as it affects people freedom. In criminal cases, two fundamental human rights collide: personal security and presumption of innocence. Victims have the right to demand investigation and prosecution of their offender in order to defend themselves and the society from future threats, and the accused have the right to a fair process where all guarantees are respected. For example, pre-trial detention must be avoided and, when used, it must be short as possible to avoid violating individual freedoms. Court decisions must be fast and fair in order to guarantee that both rights are respected.
Timeliness and effectiveness in enforcing criminal justice are highly correlated with the non-use of self-administered justice in disputes, as measured by WJP. On average, OECD countries have remained stable on both dimensions. Turkey (+0.20 on non-use of self-justice and +0.05 on adjudication) has shown the largest overall improvement, followed by Germany (+0.05, +0.07). On the contrary, Korea (-0.17, -0.02) and Greece (-0.09, -0.05) have shown the largest overall decrease. Slovenia has reduced the perception that people resort to violence to redress personal grievances, despite the impression that the criminal justice system is less effective than in 2015 (+0.18, -0.12).
The perception that crime is effectively controlled has improved on average in OECD countries since 2015. WJP takes into account whether individuals reported feeling safe walking alone at night, whether they reported being the victims of burglary and/or theft. The majority of the countries are above average and have shown improvements, especially Norway (+0.05), Hungary (+0.05) and Slovenia (+0.04).
