Council of Europe Calls for End to Judicial Corruption

PACE members have challenged several European countries, including Bulgaria, to stamp out judicial corruption. Photo by BGNES

MPs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have urged a number of European countries to clamp down on corruption in the judiciary and take effective measures to combat it.

A report by Transparency International, adopted on Wednesday by PACE, claims that corruption id deep-rooted in the judicial systems of Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

PACE has called for adequate salaries for judges, prosecutors and police officers across Europe. It stated that procedures for appointment and advancement of judges should be based solely on their professional merits.

Immunity of magistrates should not be an obstacle to effective prosecution, said the MEPs, offering to provide teams of legal specialists to investigate judgments where a lack of impartiality is suspected.

Swiss MEP Dick Marty noted that corruption in the judiciary was a virus that attacked all structures of the state.

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