Culture Page - Issue 40

40 - Oct 2 thru Oct 8 2000, Vol X

Reasons behind Judicial Corruption and Assault on Judges

Hasan Al-Zayedi,
Yemen Times
Incidents of assaulting judges have shown an increase during last year, 1999. Statistics for 1999 reveal that 40 attack incidents had taken place and judiciary officials say such incidents are increasing.
Despite introduction of the judiciary reform plan, corruption is rampant in almost all judicial institutions. The long tiring procedures, deadly courts’ routine and judges’ postponing of cases have made people lose trust in efficiency of courts. On the other hand, judges themselves have started asking for justice claiming limited resources and oppression of the Ministry of Finance.
Yemen Times came close to the core of the issue to reflect a clear picture of reasons behind not implementing verdicts, assaulting judges, corrupt practices of judges and judiciary system, judges’ stand versus the latest Finance Ministry decision cancelling, allowances and increasing judges salaries.
Abdulmalek Abdullah al-Jandari, an official at the judiciary Inspection Authority has been interviewed by Yemen Times and said “All these factors are related to each other. Approving the new allowances to members of the judiciary is a positive step to improve their performance. Its effect will be visible on those judges who are competent and qualified. Increasing their income means to take a heavy burden of responsibilities off their shoulders which will be clearly reflected in their performance. However, in case of those unqualified, this won’t have any positive effect.
According to my experience as a judiciary inspector I can say for certain that the proportion of corruption detected in judges is the least among the shortcoming in judiciary’s performance. Such shortcomings include lack of understanding, insufficient qualification, lack of experience, daunted spirits due to low incomes, lack of incentives and lack of lawful background. There is also inefficiency in terms of weak articles and their inconvenience. There are also weaknesses in the standing order, rules that violate provisions of law, pressure of work, limited courts’ resources, bad and unqualified assisting staff.
As a result of these factors, the judiciary performance has not been up to the standard. Many attempts were made to tackle this situation. However, as there has not been any clear vision regarding all other factors attached to this problem, all our attempts came to naught. In other words, at times symptoms of the problem were treated. However, the real problem was left untouched. For instance, many people started thinking that cases were not settled quickly. This has led officials to take measures for solving this phenomenon. However, this was the outcome of many reasons the foremost of which is the high flow of cases in courts, a thing that seems unprecedented. For example, the number of cases registered in primary courts in the capital secretariat in the first half of 1418 Hegira were 10182. This great number was distributed only among 20 judges. That is, every judge will have to deal with 509 cases in six months. These judges have settled in the first half of the year 6991 cases, that is, 69% of all the cases having been looked into. The settled cases were achieved within the very limited financial at human resources available compared to courts and judges in other countries.
There are some other obstacles such as the weakness of legal culture, sluggishness of the judiciary authorities to the courts’ decisions. All these reasons have led directly or indirectly to slow settlement of disputes and cases. This does not mean that judges do not have any hand in this, for some of them deliberately or indeliberately postpone finalizing cases. However, that does not have a big effect compared with the number of cases settled in all the governorates of the Republic.
In 1995, a judiciary survey was conducted and new specialized courts were set up. This action necessitated appointment of new judges who were mostly unqualified. Therefore, new courts have worsened and complicated things instead of making them better.
This has resulted, in course of time, in campaigns against what is termed as corruption of the judiciary system. People started distrusting courts and judges. Consequently, assaulting judges as phenomenon started to appear. Actions were not promptly initiated to from the very beginning. Many judges were subjected to attacks and kidnapping, which if not tackled quickly will lead to more hazardous results in times to come.”
While leaving offices of the judiciary inspection authority, I encountered a person in the corridor. His face was pale, with marks of despair and exhaustion clearly shown on it. On being asked he replied: “I’m Dr. Rajeh Nasser al-Sa’adi. I teach in the Faculty of Medicine, Sana’a university. I came here to complain against a judge.”
We asked him about the phenomenon of attacking judges to which he replied, “What is evident is that there is oppression on people who seek justice and could hardly find it. An ordinary man will naturally try all means to achieve his lost right these may include kidnapping those suppressive judges and assaulting them.
There are some judges who find it good for them to prolong cases of people in courts so as to blackmail them into paying money. What is worse is that they deceive people by saying that verdicts are in their favor while they are against them. Sometimes they make obscure verdicts in a way it as becomes difficult for people to know whether verdicts are in their favor or against them.
Corruption and corrupt judges are a result of the absence of judiciary inspection that enforces heavy penalties on whoever thinks of violating judiciary rules and laws or whoever dares to blackmail people. Corruption in the judiciary system is the cancer of courts. Some times judges refuse to carry out orders from higher courts which is certainly the climax of corruption.”
While talking to Mr. al-Sa’adi, a crowd of people gathered in the corridor complaining about the long tiresome deliberations of courts and the corrupt judges. Others have verdicts which have never seen light of day. All are saying that justice is not served, and that the state of law and order does not exist.
One of complainants is Mr. Mohammed Ali Nasser al-Sa’adi who said “I am a soldier in a camp at the borders. I do defend and protect my country and my property is blundered. If I absent myself from the camp, my salary disappears in thin air. I have been following the deliberations of my case for 25 years. I have won verdicts from the primary court to the highest supreme court. I have spent all that I have in life to get back my rights. I have spent around 2 millions. However, all these verdicts remain nothing more than ink on paper. The judge asked for YR 60,000 so as to implement the verdict.”
Regarding assaulting judges, he said “We will take the law into our hands if justice is not served. What the hell you expect me to do after 25 years of following up these damn deliberations and corrupt judges!
We have reached the highest court in the country and still we could not find justice. Shall we appeal to the International Court of Justice?”

Mohammed Saif Hamid Al-Khalid : "save nature"

Mohammad N.
Al-Hakeemi,
Yemen Times,
Taiz
“I want to save garden endangered plants and shrubs, and to create a centre for attracting tourists to enjoy the magnificent views overlookingAdeem valley, the desert and the gulf of Aden”

Mr. Mohammed Saif Hamid Al-Khalid is a UAE citizen of Yemeni origin. He holds an honor degree in system engineering and a master degree in systems and control. He is a member of major engineering institutions. His activity is concentrated around the provision of petroleum engineering expertise and support.

Frequently, Mr. Al-Khalid visits his native village in Turbat Thubhan, Taiz province, in which he has developed medium size agriculture projects divided into three phases, phase one was essentially experimental one and involves approximately 1.5 acres of lands in the neighborhood of new house that was built for his family. The second phase was an expansion in the neighborhood of the first phase which involves approximately six acres. The third phase is in a cliff in an area of approximately three to four acres and it overlooks the Adeem valley and in there endangered species of plants and shrubs are nursed. There are also other fruit trees and in particular coffee plants are grown. It s hoped that the pleasant atmosphere around the year and the magnificent views of the Adeem valley which terminate at the gulf of Aden some 60 to 70 km away will attract tourists to the area.
On the top of his resort, 1960 meters high above sea surface, Mr. Mohammed Al-Hakimi of Yemen Times met with Hamid. Here are the excerpts:

Q: How was the start?
A: I started my farm in 1990 at Hesbara village for my father who doesn’t have any other children. I am his only son. In fact, It was a simple start, there was a plenty of water which encouraged me to make farm round my luxurious house which I built for the sake of my father also. I started with an acre and then it was expanded to three acres.

Q: What do you grow in the farm?
A: We grow almost all trees. We grow in the new areas the plants that suits with the weather here. We set aside mangoes because it quite cold here. We concentrate on growing most suitable plants like apples, oranges, citrus trees, guava, pomegranates, mandarins, forest trees, and establishment trees. The first phase of development which surrounded my house is approximately three acre, i.e. nearly thousand square meters. Other plants are also planted like beaches, apricots, olives, coffee, grapes.

Q: Could you tell us about other phases of development of your agriculture project?
A: Well, the second consists of developing approximately 3.5 hectares of land adjacent to the main road connecting Turba. Three more wells were drilled providing sufficient water for the expansion.
The other phase consisted of developing approximately two thousand apple trees, four hundred citrus fruit, two fifty guava trees, four hundred pomegranates, and another trees, four hundred pomegranates and another 400 Another hundred American variety peaches.
Another development was directed towards creating an environmental compound of approximately two hectares where endangered species of plants and shrubs are nursed. Also necessary services such as water tanks, containing about 200 cubic meters of irrigation water and a tourist resort consisting of seven floors for accommodating visitors is being completed.

Q: What is the total area for the three phases of development?
A: It is seven hectares.

Q: What was the total cost of investment?
A: The total gross investment was approximately $3m .

Q: What sort of animals can be seen in the this phase of development?
A: You can see most birds and many little animals which gather round and above the farm. They are never hurt and they feel safe there.

Q: What are your future plans?
A: After the completion of the present development plans, if God wills I shall develop a farm in a virgin land that I have acquired in Nugaiba district near Taiz town in Hodeida which I intend to develop for planting mangoes and palms trees. The area there is approximately five hundred hectares.

Q: What have you done for your village people?
A: I prefer not to answer this question myself.
Then I asked a citizen who informed me the following. “He established a Quranic school, water projects, paved roads, built mosques, provided schools for sewing and he intends to perform lots of services highly needed by his neighbors in the village.

Q: What do you hope for?
A: I hope that this project in Turba is fully developed so that we would receive our fair shares of tourist attention, in order to encourage to finance more developments. I hope to develop this land in order to find out the best plans suited for the environment from the point of production and aesthetic aspects and to give special consideration to the ecological aspects for saving garden endangered species of local plants and shrubs, and to create a center for attracting tourist to enjoy the magnificent views overlooking Adeem valley (wadi) and the desert and the gulf of Aden, leading to open desert and terminating at shores of gulf of Aden.

Q: Any last message to improve the locality and to create opportunities for the local population?
A: Additionally we hope to commence a practical model for saving our environment, and to give a practical example for encouraging future investment from within Yemen and abroad.
I hope that the Yemeni government would take practical measures to encourage serious investors by way of reconsidering import duties on essential equipment for for such schemes.