Benin report - Institut Africain de la Gouvernance

CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE__________________________________________________________________________Sixty-three of them (including several judges) were given sentences of varying degrees andseveral were sentenced to prison. When they appealed, the judges were clearly treated lessharshly. Many of them received lighter sentences and several subsequently got their jobsback. This leniency did not go down well with the public, who are generally not very wellinformed about the subtleties of legal cases, and who therefore quickly concluded that thejudges had been favoured because of their „connections‟.The positive fallout from this case is that justice was seen to be done, impunity was notentertained, and judges did not hesitate to try to convict their peers. This sends a message ofhope about the ability of the judiciary to tackle corruption and the embezzlement of publicfunds in Benin resolutely (on condition that members of the judiciary are adequatelyremunerated!).233. The public perception of the independence of the judiciary vis-à-vis theExecutive and economic leaders is largely negative. Personal ambitions andsocial pressures – which give rise to interference in legal proceedings,corruption and greed, uncertainties, and conflicts between authorities or withinone authority – all greatly undermine the independence and prestige of thejudiciary. The judiciary is therefore seen by the public as being very „sick‟,notwithstanding the efforts of several honest and competent judges.iii.Recommendations of the APR Panel234. In order to guarantee the separation and balance of powers, the APR Panelrecommends:Institutional capacity building for the National Assembly by recruiting andtraining parliamentary staff (Parliament).Improving the status and service conditions of parliamentary staff byintroducing a career development plan, salary increments, and so on(Parliament).Depoliticising the staff by making them work as public officials in theservice of the nation rather than for any particular political group(Parliament).Opening parliamentary offices in every district (Parliament).Providing further training for MPs in the work of Parliament, in methodsof executive control, for parliamentary missions and in the necessity to beanswerable to the electorate (Parliament, possibly with the cooperation ofdevelopment partners).Reviewing establishment laws and the Electoral Provisions Act on theappointment of MPs to ensure better representation (at least one MP foreach district), and to take into account gender balance and age (Parliamentand government).235. In order to consolidate the independence of the courts and the judiciary, theAPR Panel recommends:100