By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib

Judicial independence means that the judges are free to make decisions based on the law and do not feel compelled to comply with the wishes of the political leaders. In democratic countries judges are usually chosen on the basis of merit rather than politics and cannot be removed from office because of the nature of their decisions. The greatest protection of the judiciary from the threats to its independence comes from the people as long as judges are careful not to get too far of what the majority of the people want in their decisions. An independent judiciary that secures the rights of citizens is a cherished part of any political landscape in which the rule of law is paramount.

The will of the people not only influences courts in democracies but can even compel dictatorships to leave office. The role the people played in Pakistan to re-instate chief justice Chaudry is a good example. The military government of Islamabad could not resist the people’s wishes and the chief justice is back in his job now and can use the mandate to correct the mistakes of the military regime. He can also use this popularity to run for the presidency.

Supportive public opinion not only plays an important role in the courts but can change the decisions of governments in any issue. The court is an un-elected body and does not consult public opinion polls when making its rulings but the view of the majority of the public do play a role in its decision making. Should the court fail to capture the conscience of the public with persuasiveness of its reasoning and the decisions get too far out of what the people want they loose the support of the public. In Somaliland the people already lost confidence in the courts.

The court ruling last week to imprison Dr. Gabose and Eng. Mohamed Hashi Elmi and others to 3 years and 9 months and to bar them from exercising politics for 5 years was a politically motivated decision. The courts here always support the wrong and un-popular issues of the government and do not protect the rights of the populace.

The personalities of individual judges and how they interact with each other play a large role in the direction of the courts. Judges have a duty to reach out and decide issues independently without the interference of the government and can overrule or turn down the wishes of the elected body. This is the time that the court has the power to be the final interpreter of the constitution.

In Somaliland judges follow the dictates of the political leaders and are disciplined if they do not follow the instructions of the government. Our democracy is less stable because the judicial system is not independent. They always issue strange decisions favoring the administration and that is why the country is always under crisis.

What makes my statement true is the appointment of Hadrawi commission that turned down the court ruling and demanded freedom for Dr. Gabose and Mohamed Hashi Elmi and the others. One of the pitfalls of the present administration is lack of communicating with the other branches of the government in making decisions and the people to obtain political support in running the affairs of the country. The other strange attitudes are its separation policy tactics. This made this administration to be always in the centre of crisis all the time and at the end they are always forced to reverse their stand and accept the argument of the opposing side.

Ibrahim Adam Ghalib

Borama Awdal

kaalib33@hotmail.com

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