Judiciary

SS1 GOVERNMENT

2nd Term

Judiciary: this is the arm of government that interprets the law and applies the existing law to particular cases in order to determine the rightness or wrongness of the act.

Functions: (1) interpretation of the law (2) settlement of disputes (3) punishment of offenders (4) prevention of wrongful act (5) entertaining complaints from aggrieved people (6) protection of the constitution by spotting laws that are null and void. (7) review of the activities of the other arms

Independence of judiciary: an independent judiciary is one which is free from the interference of the other two arms of government. Judges should be free in interpreting the law without fear or favor, otherwise there will be partiality in judgment, and citizens’ rights will be trampled on by selfish politicians. The following are essential for independence of the judiciary: (1) Appointment: Judges and magistrates should not be appointed by the executive or the legislature, but by a neutral body such as the Judicial Service Commission. (2) Promotion: of judges should also be done by an independent body (3) Remuneration: of judges should be sufficient so as not to make them vulnerable to bribes from politicians. And because he who pays the piper determines the tune, judges’ salaries should not be paid by the executive, but from a consolidated account. (4) Security of tenure: no other arm of government should have the power to sack a judge. His job should be secure as long as he is just. (5) Military security: judges should have security aides to avoid intimidation outside the court.