The public is worried about how the judiciary operates and the impartiality of judges, a survey released on Wednesday has found.
Seventy-three percent of those polled felt it was easy to bribe justice officials and 85% thought that the crime-to-punishment process took too long, said Research Surveys, the company that released the opinion poll.
”The image of the judiciary is clearly in need of urgent overhaul, but this needs to be done carefully as already one in three people feels that the courts are not independent of government,” Research Surveys said.
”People generally feel that they know their rights, and previously disadvantaged people are the most likely to feel that the constitutional protection of these rights that they now have has improved their lives.”
The survey was conducted in 2005 among a representative sample of 2 000 South African adults in all seven metropolitan areas. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in their homes.
One of the issues examined was impressions around the judiciary. People were asked to disagree or agree with a number of statements.
Seventy-three percent believed it was easy for criminals to bribe officials. Only 14% disagreed. ”Interestingly, people in Bloemfontein had the lowest concern on this issue (53% agreed) whilst those in Cape Town had the highest (83% agreed).”
Eighty-five percent thought it took too long for criminals to be sentenced (blacks 81%, whites 91%, coloureds 88% and Indians 97%). Ten percent demurred.
”This is clearly seen to be a major problem by almost everyone, with much less ambivalence occurring than … on the other issues,” Research Surveys said.
Asked whether an accused ended up in jail depending on which judge was assigned to the case, 63% of respondents agreed (blacks 65%, whites 59%, coloureds 55% and Indians 79%). Twenty-four percent disagreed.
”Indians are the most cynical on this issue, as are Sotho-speakers (71% agreed) and, again, those in Bloemfontein (83%).”
Allied to this was the impression that the race or sex of a judge influenced decisions made in trials.
Fifty-two percent believed judges allowed their race to influence their judgement and 45% believed this about gender. However, 31% disagreed on the race issue and 37% on gender. There was no difference between race groups on the race issue.
”On these two issues, there are some differences between the major cities of South Africa. On both, people in Bloemfontein, the home of the Supreme Court of Appeal, are the most concerned about race and gender biasing judges (75% and 65% respectively agree that these factors influence decisions handed down by judges).
”People in the Eastern Cape are the least concerned (only 37% agree with the statements given above),” Research Surveys said.
More upbeat findings were that 73% of respondents said they knew what their constitutional rights were.
”Males are slightly more likely to agree (76%) compared with females (70%). There are some significant differences by region, with people in Gauteng being more likely to agree (77%) and those in Durban being least likely to agree (60%).”
Fifty-six percent of those polled agreed that the Constitution, 10 years old on Monday, had improved their lives. Of these respondents, 68% were black, 45% were coloured and 34% Indian. Only 29% were white.
”Nonetheless, it is encouraging to note that the previously most disadvantaged group, blacks, are the most likely to feel that their lives have been improved by the protection afforded them by the Constitution. Again, this view was strongest in Gauteng (64%) and weakest in Durban (40%).” — Sapa