By: Bradford C. Brown, Senior Advisor, Center for Judicial Informatics Science And Technology of the Mitre Corporation
The Fourth Industrial Age is evolving quickly, with research and
development spreading all over the world and estimated at $1.9 trillion. The
Internet of Things will add all kinds of products to the network. Yet in the
end, the protection of people, assets, property and data will always matter.
That protection falls to governments through law enforcement and judicial
systems. It mattered in the era of steam engines, and it will matter in the era
of cyber-physical systems. A global transformation—driven by technology—is
coming. With it will come the need for a range of enforcement issues. The flow
of data has a value, as does the fusion of technology, machines and human
productivity. Those benefits will only follow where citizens and businesses
feel protected and have a sound judicial system as a last resort.
Without a civil environment: investment will not flow,
business will not start, and no government will be perceived as fair without
the rule of law in place and without people’s access to justice. Is it any
wonder then that some of the most corrupt countries in the world are also in
the top 10 least peaceful countries in the world, according to Transparency
International’s Corruption Perception Index[1] and Vision of Humanity’s Global Peace Index.
| Global Peace Index: |
Corruption
Perception Index |
| 162 |
Syria |
167 |
Somalia |
| 161 |
Iraq |
167 |
North
Korea |
| 160 |
Afghanistan |
166 |
Afghanistan |
| 159 |
South
Sudan |
165 |
Sudan |
| 158 |
Central
Africa Republic |
163 |
South Sudan |
| 157 |
Somalia |
163 |
Angola |
| 156 |
Sudan |
162 |
Libya |
| 155 |
Democratic
Republic of Congo |
161 |
Iraq |
| 154 |
Pakistan |
158 |
Venezuela |
| 152 |
North
Korea |
158 |
Guinea-Bissau |
| 152 |
Russia |
158 |
Haiti |
Historically,
these countries have struggled with internal and external conflict, political
instability, lack of credibility, aggressive military posturing, a lack of
transparency, corruption, and weak governmental and judicial systems. Some,
like South Sudan, which became the 193rd member of the United
Nations in 2011, are trying to reform and provide for judicial independence as
best they can. Others, like North Korea, have vague laws and a criminal justice
system that Kay Seok, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, described as a “sham”
in her August 2010 article “From a North Korean Hell to Home.”[2]
Establishing
a visible and transparent judiciary is challenging if the government is
perceived as weak, corrupt and opaque. If the laws are vague or replete with
local customs, then the lack of consistent outcomes calls into question the
fairness of the judicial system. Justice means that remedies are perceived as
predictable, fair and even handed.
“It is difficult to
overstate the negative impact of a corrupt judiciary: it erodes the ability of
the international community to tackle transnational crime and terrorism; it
diminishes trade, economic growth and human development; and, most importantly,
it denies citizens impartial settlement of disputes with neighbors or the
authorities. When the latter occurs, corrupt judiciaries fracture and divide
communities by keeping alive the sense of injury created by unjust treatment
and mediation. Judicial systems debased by bribery undermine confidence in
governance by facilitating corruption across all sectors of government,
starting at the helm of power.”
International
Judicial Monitor