[Global Corruption Report 2007] Informality,Legal Institutions and Social Norms

Abstract

"During the socialist era, the main purpose of the judiciary was to protect the socialist order and the rights of the citizens. Transition brought about a dramatic change in the role of the judiciary and also greatly expanded its tasks. Judicial reform has so far been only partially successful. One of the reasons is that it has failed to address the mentality and behaviour of those working within the judiciary, as well as those interacting with it from the outside. NIBR, in collaboration with Charles University/GfK Prague (Czech Republic), University of Maribor/CATI (Slovenia), Vitosha Research (Bulgaria) and the Romanian Academic Society/ Gallup Romania (Romania), recently completed a three-year project funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project investigated manifestations of informality in these countries in general, and the use of contacts and informal networks, in particular in the judiciary, politics and public procurement. Data were generated by means of elite in-depth interviews (IDIs) and quota-based elite surveys (ES),2 including 40 IDIs (10 per country) and 300 survey interviews (75 per country) with judges and prosecutors."(pg 306)