WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE

INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY IN AN
ECONOMY AND HOW ARE LAW AND
ORDER CONDITIONS RELATED TO
ECONOMIC GROWTH OF A COUNTRY?

What is independent judiciary?

Simply stated, judicial independence is the ability of a judge to decide a
matter free from pressures or inducements. Additionally, the institution of
the judiciary as a whole must also be independent by being separate from
government and other concentrations of power. The principal role of an
independent judiciary is to uphold the rule of law and to ensure the
supremacy of the law. If the judiciary is to exercise a truly impartial and
independent adjudicative function, it must have special powers to allow it to
“keep its distance” from other governmental institutions, political
organisations, and other non-governmental influences, and to be free of
repercussions from such outside influences.
Functions of independent judiciary:
 The judiciary shall decide matters before them impartially, on the
basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any
restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats of
interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason.
 There shall not be any inappropriate or unwarranted interference
with the judicial process, nor shall judicial decisions by the courts be
subject to revision.
  Only where an independent judiciary exists, can judges decide cases
impartially and justly, because “the rule of law” requires that a judge not be
apprehensive of repercussions or retaliation from outside influences.
 The history of the judiciary around the world demonstrates that the greatest
danger of interference comes from other government institutions or political
parties. An independent judiciary must not only be independent of these and
other influences, but also it must appear to be independent. This is so
because a court can only be truly accepted as a just one if it has the confidence of
the public that it is just and fair.

Consequences of independent judiciary:

A society where people know their rights are guaranteed
by fair laws which apply in the same way to all citizens equally, and are
applied in an open and public way by an independent and impartial
judiciary, is always a secure and stable society.
Effects of absence of independent judiciary on economy of a country:

In a country, where the judiciary is not free from external pressures, there is injustice and
violation of the rights of common people. This type of situation is likely to start a crisis as
nobody is able to live a peaceful life. The crisis in the country causes instability. Instability will
cause adverse effects to the economy in terms of deterring investment (foreign direct investment)
[[deterring means restrained investment/discouraged or low]]. Instability and riots also damages
infra structure and cripples public services as well. The lawlessness also means people can't go to
work and the police and judiciary systems are in a crisis, meaning factors of production are
underutilized. Investment shies away from economies and countries that do not have an independent
judiciary. Thus the economy will loose out on investment and its production or GDP will fall (the
economy will be producing inside its Production Possibility Boundary which means it’s not
using all its resources fully and efficiently as possible), not to mention all the social
consequences. Thus independent judiciary is very important for a stable economy of a country.

Effect of Law and Order conditions on economic growth:

If law and order conditions are not preserved,the economy of a country suffers from adverse
affects .What capital and investment, both domestic and foreign, primarily need is security. Before an
investor brings his funds into a country, he makes sure that judiciary in that country is independent and
the judges are fearless.Moreover law and order conditions are prevailing. Inflation and rising prices are
also a part of the same phenomenon. Simply stated: it is a question of supply and demand. Without
investment there can be no increase in production and opportunities of employment. Without increase
in production capacity, net employment used to decrease and unemployment go up. Since no society
can make any progress in a state of chaos and disorder, it is concluded that the conditions of law and
order must have direct and significant bearing on the pace and pattern of economic development of a
country.