Bröstl Alexander, On the Third Power: Taking Independence of the Judiciary Seriously

The judiciary is the third branch of the government (the third state power) with the responsibility of applying the laws to specific cases and settling all disputes. The independence of the judiciary according to Parmatma Sharan„is a corner stone of ever democratic government and upon it is built the structure of civil liberty. This structure is destroyed, the moment, the judiciary becomes susceptible to political pressure.”

The organization of the judiciary must be based on the following features: the appointment of only highly qualified and experienced judges; the method of appointing judges must be fair, systematic, effective and transparent; the method of removing judges should be difficult; no single entity should have the power to remove judges; nevertheless, this does not mean that judges should be untouchable.

A worse state...