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Justice Sector Corruption in Ethiopia 187
This study uses a more limited definition, focusing only on the courts,
prosecutors, police, and private attorneys. 3 (Public defenders were not
surveyed because there are few of them in Ethiopia.) At present, it is
estimated that only some 15 percent 4 of the Ethiopian population has
access to the services of these entities; for the rest, most conflict resolution
and rule enforcement is conducted through traditional bodies or the
system of social courts introduced in 1987. 5
Apart from the time constraints, there is a strong justification for this
narrower focus given that (a) the most widespread complaints about and
dissatisfaction with sector performance are addressed at these agencies;
(b) the government is actively trying to improve access to the state organizations;
and (c) the government has also been engaged in a series of
reform programs to improve formal sector performance.
As one sign of this interest, Ethiopia, with 3.4 judges per 100,000
inhabitants (although below the ratio for more-developed regions), does
remarkably better than other Sub-Saharan African nations such as Ghana,
Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, where the ratio is closer to 1 per
100,000 (Van de Vijver 2006; author’s data on Ghana and Kenya).
As part of ongoing reform, the government also has installed a fairly
sophisticated system for tracking court performance at both the federal
and regional levels. Unfortunately, the police and prosecutors lag behind
in this area, and the ratio of police to population is extremely low. 6
Importance of Justice Sector Corruption
Corruption within the institutions covered here—or, indeed, within the
sector more broadly defined—generally has a far lower monetary value
than corruption in other sectors, and, except for extreme cases, 7 offers
fewer direct threats to public well-being. However, justice sector corruption
is important for a number of reasons (even apart from the sector’s
central role in establishing a rule of law):
• Justice sector organizations are vital to the identification and sanctioning
of corruption in other sectors. Where they are themselves corrupt, their
activities in this area are severely compromised, both literally (they cannot
perform their functions) and symbolically (their rulings will bear no
legitimacy).
• Where justice sector agencies are perceived as corrupt or otherwise
compromised, they will not be used to resolve conflicts except by those
wishing to use the corruption to their own ends or with no choice in
the matter (for example, defendants in criminal cases). Instead, citizens