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Justice Sector Corruption in Ethiopia 203
Compared with other African countries, the numbers of judges
(reportedly 2,739 in 2007 [NJI 2008]) and prosecutors (an estimated
200 at the federal level, according to the director of criminal activities,
surpassing the 118 federal judges; figures were not available for the
regions) are relatively high. In fact, according to one estimate, there are
considerably more judges than private lawyers (a less common but not
unique situation in Africa) (Bourassa 2009).
Police numbers per population remain low, as they do in the rest of
Africa. Although all agencies have expansion plans, they face financial
limitations and a lack of suitable recruits. In terms of work levels, expansion
may not be necessary. Workloads for police may be heavy, but those
for judges and prosecutors are moderately high but manageable. However,
the government’s main interest appears to be increasing access and making
all sector actors available to a greater range of the population.
Productivity gains from modernization. This gradual expansion of the
size and reach of the sector institutions is part of a modernization program
that began in the middle of the last decade. Although the program
theoretically incorporates all institutions, the judiciary has advanced more
rapidly than the prosecution and the police, and in fact has introduced
innovations seen in few developing countries. This is especially evident in
its adoption of an automated CMS (fully installed at the federal level and
partially installed in the regions) and its use to monitor productivity. As a
result, the judiciaries have reduced delays substantially and increased
output. A similar system was developed for the Ministry of Justice, but it
has never been expanded beyond one pilot office in Addis Ababa, and
even there it is said not to work.
With data, systematic tracking. The courts (both federal and regional)
track productivity, clearance, and congestion rates; appeals rates; execution
of judgments; numbers of adjournment; and percentages of cases
resolved within 0–30 days, 1–3 months, and so on up to more than six
years. Since the installation of the system (in 2001), the numbers have all
improved, although as shown below, congestion rates remain moderate.
This is hardly surprising given the recent increases in filings.
With the exception of South Africa, no African country has these kinds
of statistical data, nor do they attempt to track efficiency so systematically.
Moreover, although case management systems have been spreading
since the early 1990s in other regions, a comparable emphasis on productivity
is rare (World Bank 2004b). In some Latin American countries, a