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[ADRN Working Paper] Judicial Independence and Democracy in Asia

2021-08-06

ADRN Working Paper

Judicial Independence and Democracy in Asia

ADRN members

- India & Sri Lanka & Philippines -

Variances exist among the justice systems of Asian democracies. The judiciaries of Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and India, upon independence, have evolved in various ways. The formerly colonial systems of the judiciary have gone through many amendments and have influenced the judiciary’s performance over the past years. How has the judiciary been able to respond to the powers of the executive branch and where does judicial independence stand today?

In this working paper series, India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines provided an overview of their respective systems of judiciary in relation to its independence and relations with other powerful institutions. Through comparing, contrasting, and providing comprehensive feedback of each system, the authors examined viable ways to protect the judiciary in order to fulfill justice for all. The Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) has been conducting research on the Judicial Independence and Democracy in Asia based on country cases since 2020. As part of this research project, EAI has planned a working papers series composed of three working papers.

Country Case 1: India

Indian Judiciary at a Critical Crossroad: Issues and Challenges

Although enjoying ‘a place of pride’ as a democratic institution, India’s judiciary has been facing a threat from an ever-growing influence from the executive power which is characterized by a strong central government led by president Narendra Modi. Niranjan Sahoo, a senior fellow at ORF, examines the current situation of the Indian judiciary as it is at a critical crossroad: whether the court will reflect on the Indian citizens’ concerns and speak up for the values in the Constitution The author pays attention to the recent attempts from a number of high courts and the Supreme Court in India to revitalize public faith in the judiciary, which is evidenced via the ‘handling of the COVID-19 petitions and state excesses’.

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Country Case 2: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Two Paths to Judicial Independence

From an institutional point of view, Sri Lanka is equipped with democracy where the division of powers and the systems of checks and balances are more likely to be realized. However, the ever-growing power of the executive president in the country lets its judiciary face a threat of not being independent. Backed up by the historical experiences of gradually developing judiciary’s authority, the legal from Verite Research, analyzes the current status of judicial independence and its future pathways in two different narratives. One is a conventional narrative with which the judiciary’s endeavors to uphold public trust is dealt and the other is a mutually reinforcing narrative that covers relatively more traditional ways of realizing the judiciary’s independence by aiming for realizing justice separately from other branches of the government.

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Country Case 3: Philippines

Land Reform, Judicial Independence and the Rule of LawL Whither Goes Mang Juan?

Division of power in a democratic country is built upon the public’s trust and confidence in institutions like the judiciary. However, the judiciary’s lack of independence erodes trust and confidence, hindering the healthy operation of democracy. The author Atty. MA. Cleofe Gettie C. Sandoval from the INCITEGov points out the importance of judicial independence with the Philippines’ historical experiences. By unfolding the two different concepts of judicial independence - adjudicative independence and institutional independence - the author argues that it is important to depoliticize the issues related to the judiciary and introduce a mechanism of evaluation to strengthen the management capacity of the Supreme Court, to improve judges’ performance, and to achieve transparency with regards to the information disclosure.

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