Urgent Need for Judicial Reforms [Archives:1999/41/Viewpoint]

President Saleh’s call for an independent judicial system, away from the effect of the authorities is indeed a step to appreciate. Today, there is urgent need to have an honest, effective, and independent judicial system in Yemen. I have never before in my life gone to a court room, until the day when I stood in trial in the case of the 22.5 billion dollars that the Yemen Times raised before the death of its founder on the dark second of June, 1999. As soon as I went into the court, I saw many people, some desperate, some in panic, and most in a hurry.
It hurt me a lot to understand from a man in the court how his case was terribly managed by a crook judge. He claimed that he has been going from one court room to another, from one judge to another, and paying to lawyers for more than 5 years. Then I asked him, “now, have you got your land back?” He answered in a desperate way, “I just need to complete the process of these papers, and then it will be all over.” I felt a bit relieved, but for not long, as I understood from a relative of his later on, that he has been saying this sentence for more than 4 years.
What a pity, what a mess!
This is not the way it should be in a country, which realized the aspects of Islam, which are built upon justice. That word that brings a lot of difference to peoples lives. Without justice, we would live in a jungle, where the strong eats the weak, and where law and order are never implemented.
We in Yemen, have been suffering from a weak and corrupt judiciary system. It is a system where a judge can sell all his honesty for several hundred thousand riyals. The formula is simple, just as a well-known Yemeni lawyer said to me the other day, “The more money you have, the more powerful you are.” When I asked him, “What about the law, doesn’t it defend the poor or weak?” He replied in a ,, manner, “what law? The law that is currently in Yemen is no more than ink on paper.” Such a word getting out of a lawyer’s mouth is indeed a dangerous indication that we need urgent reforms in our country.
People do not feel safe because they cannot guarantee that their rights will be given to them when oppressed by a powerful individual or group. They believe that justice is not granted to them, simply because it doesn’t exist for everyone.
The president had mentioned that he is going to establish the country of law and order. It that is the case, he must first realize the misery and injustice the people are undergoing. He can go to the ministry of justice, and see how crowded the corridors are. You can find a man asking for refunding because of natural disasters, a woman asking why their son has been put to jail, and another man asking why a corrupt judge refused to give him his rights. There are many issues that can be brought to demonstrate the level of corruption and inefficiency in our judicial system. There are hundreds of examples, and thousands of victims. Today, it is time to change all of that.
A true, transparent, independent judicial system must take charge of establishing justice in this country. The government, army, security forces, and even the president should not be able to interfere in a justice system that is totally honest. However, because of the corrupt justice system we have, their interference is sometimes needed, just to keep injustice from taking place.
Summing up, we can all raise up to the challenge and fight all factors that lead to injustice in our country. The most important factor in my view is corruption, which is a direct result of the current economy crisis. If a judge gets just around YR 30,000 per month, how can he stay honest and frank while he needs to feed tens of people. There is a formula here, and we should know how it is balanced. That formula can be used in a good way if the ones in authority begin acting by dismissing corrupt judges and reforming the judicial system.
There is no doubt that If there is corruption there is no justice. And if there is no justice, there will never be peace of mind. As a lady said to me the other day, “a relative of mine claims that he has the right in my house and land. He must have bribed the corrupt judge to issue a verdict on his favor. I just cannot believe how people can rob others in the name of the law and through legal ways.”
After crying for sometime, she raised her head and continued, “I couldn’t sleep for two days, because whenever I lay my head on the pillow, I feel insecure, because I can never guarantee my ownership of my own house and land. I am afraid that tomorrow I will wake up on the sound of the police getting me out of my home in the name of the law, because my case is in the hands of a corrupt judge. I always pray for justice, I pray for an honest life.”May god help the lady keep her home, and may God bring an honest judiciary system to Yemen. Amen..

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