![[Mozambique] Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso.](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/20032412.jpg.webp?itok=Msu2q4XP "Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso")
Despite improvements in Mozambique's justice sector since the end of one-party rule in 1994, the independence of the courts is still not guaranteed, says a new report.
Judges and prosecutors interviewed during the course of research for 'Mozambique: Justice Sector and the Rule of Law', prepared by the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP), a Soros Foundation Network initiative, listed examples of undue interference with the courts, in which members of the public administration had sought directly or indirectly to influence legal decisions.
The authors of the report found that judges were more vulnerable to outside influence at district level, where courts tend to face a shortage of funds and lack of physical infrastructure.
Two decades of rule by FRELIMO, the only political party from 1975 to 1994, had entrenched a culture of political influence, particularly in the lower tiers of the judicial system, said AfriMAP's deputy director, Ozias Tungwarara.
In 2000, journalist Carlos Cardoso was gunned down while investigating the 1996 embezzlement of US$14 million from the Commercial Bank of Mozambique. The report cited the high-profile trial of his alleged hired killers, which had "strengthened the public's perception that organised criminal elements have connections with senior government officials and are able to bribe their way out of the reach of justice".
These perceptions were heightened by the repeated escapes of Anibal dos Santos Jr or 'Anibalzinho', who was convicted of Cardoso's murder, from a high-security prison.
The eldest son of former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, Nyimpine Chissano, has also been implicated in the assassination, but has yet to be arrested.
The report listed a series of problems that have weakened the judiciary: courts battle with a critical shortage of staff, both in quantity and quality; salaries are low; physical conditions are often poor, particularly at district level, where facilities tend to be very basic and antiquated.
"At the district level, many courts share office space with other state institutions, leading to perceptions among citizens that the independence of the courts is compromised," the researchers found, and suggested increased government spending to remedy the situation.
Availability of legislation and reference sources, such as legal libraries and archives, was also a major problem. "The majority of courts at the district level do not have copies of key legislative acts; when these are available, they tend to be judges' personal copies that they take with them when they retire or move to another court."
The 2004 Constitution allows the Council of Ministers to formulate laws that automatically come into force if parliament does not challenge them during the session after publication. "This power has been used by the government to pass significant legislation ... Unless Parliament exercises its oversight responsibilities, the trend will be for 'decree laws' to be tacitly approved without a proper debate."
An important tool in legal reform is the reporting process related to international human rights treaties. The report pointed out that Mozambique has a relatively good record of ratifying international and regional human rights instruments, but has failed to comply with reporting obligations, not only to the United Nations treaty monitoring bodies, also the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Reports to international bodies help provide an analytical framework, and present an opportunity to review and plan law reform efforts.
The researchers found that the legal system contained anomalies and did not comply with international best practice: for instance, the Criminal Procedure Code allows a suspect to be held for up to six months without being formally charged, despite the existence of provisions stipulating that suspects charged with minor offences be judged within a maximum of five days after being detained.
"The role of civil society in ensuring that government meets its obligations has also been lacking. Mozambican civil society groups have never submitted a shadow report to an international treaty body, and a parallel process could build pressure on the government to improve its own record," AfriMAP commented.
The recent establishment of an ad hoc inter-ministerial committee on human rights, responsible for Mozambique's reporting requirements, might help improve the situation.
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Judges and prosecutors interviewed during the course of research for 'Mozambique: Justice Sector and the Rule of Law', prepared by the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP), a Soros Foundation Network initiative, listed examples of undue interference with the courts, in which members of the public administration had sought directly or indirectly to influence legal decisions.
The authors of the report found that judges were more vulnerable to outside influence at district level, where courts tend to face a shortage of funds and lack of physical infrastructure.
Two decades of rule by FRELIMO, the only political party from 1975 to 1994, had entrenched a culture of political influence, particularly in the lower tiers of the judicial system, said AfriMAP's deputy director, Ozias Tungwarara.
In 2000, journalist Carlos Cardoso was gunned down while investigating the 1996 embezzlement of US$14 million from the Commercial Bank of Mozambique. The report cited the high-profile trial of his alleged hired killers, which had "strengthened the public's perception that organised criminal elements have connections with senior government officials and are able to bribe their way out of the reach of justice".
These perceptions were heightened by the repeated escapes of Anibal dos Santos Jr or 'Anibalzinho', who was convicted of Cardoso's murder, from a high-security prison.
The eldest son of former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, Nyimpine Chissano, has also been implicated in the assassination, but has yet to be arrested.
The report listed a series of problems that have weakened the judiciary: courts battle with a critical shortage of staff, both in quantity and quality; salaries are low; physical conditions are often poor, particularly at district level, where facilities tend to be very basic and antiquated.
"At the district level, many courts share office space with other state institutions, leading to perceptions among citizens that the independence of the courts is compromised," the researchers found, and suggested increased government spending to remedy the situation.
Availability of legislation and reference sources, such as legal libraries and archives, was also a major problem. "The majority of courts at the district level do not have copies of key legislative acts; when these are available, they tend to be judges' personal copies that they take with them when they retire or move to another court."
The 2004 Constitution allows the Council of Ministers to formulate laws that automatically come into force if parliament does not challenge them during the session after publication. "This power has been used by the government to pass significant legislation ... Unless Parliament exercises its oversight responsibilities, the trend will be for 'decree laws' to be tacitly approved without a proper debate."
An important tool in legal reform is the reporting process related to international human rights treaties. The report pointed out that Mozambique has a relatively good record of ratifying international and regional human rights instruments, but has failed to comply with reporting obligations, not only to the United Nations treaty monitoring bodies, also the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Reports to international bodies help provide an analytical framework, and present an opportunity to review and plan law reform efforts.
The researchers found that the legal system contained anomalies and did not comply with international best practice: for instance, the Criminal Procedure Code allows a suspect to be held for up to six months without being formally charged, despite the existence of provisions stipulating that suspects charged with minor offences be judged within a maximum of five days after being detained.
"The role of civil society in ensuring that government meets its obligations has also been lacking. Mozambican civil society groups have never submitted a shadow report to an international treaty body, and a parallel process could build pressure on the government to improve its own record," AfriMAP commented.
The recent establishment of an ad hoc inter-ministerial committee on human rights, responsible for Mozambique's reporting requirements, might help improve the situation.
jk/he
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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