Judicial reform is the complete or partial political

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

of a country's

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. Judicial reform can be connected to a

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or Law Commission, ...

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...

, police reform or part of wider reform of the country's political system. Stated reasons for judicial reform include increasing of the

independence of the judiciary Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...

constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...

and

separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...

, increased speed of justice, increased fairness of justice, improved

impartiality Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the mo ...

, and improving electoral accountability,

political legitimacy In political science, legitimacy is a concept which turns brute force into power. The right and acceptance of an authority, usually a governing law or a regime, at least formally, are impossible to be built on one's brute force, or to coerce peop ...

and

parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over al ...

. Areas of the judicial reform often include: codification of law instead of

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

, changing between an

inquisitorial system An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an ...

and an

adversarial system The adversarial system (also adversary system, accusatorial system, or accusatory system) is a legal system used in the common law countries where two advocates represent their parties' case or position before an impartial person or group of peopl ...

, changes to

court administration Court administration, administration of courts or judicial administration is a field of public administration on back office affairs of court operation, including annual budgeting and human resource management. Models of court administration W ...

such as judicial councils or changes to appointment procedure, establishing mandatory retirement age for judges or increasing the independence of

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

s from the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

Examples

Judiciary Act of 1789

Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937

Judicial reform of Alexander II

Judicial Reform Committee of South Sudan

2023 Israeli judicial reform

2024 Mexican judicial reform

Protests against Polish judiciary reforms

Romanian judicial reform

Scottish judicial reform

The period from 2012 to 2015 is the period of the Lord Presidency of

Lord Gill Brian Gill, Lord Gill, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KSG Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, FRSAMD Royal School of Church Music, FRSCM (born 25 February 1942) is a retired Scotland, Scottish ju ...

whose agenda was to overhaul and modernise a failing judicial system. His initial Report dated from 2009, and followed a lengthy public consultation. His opinion was that the system as it stood was "outdated, expensive, unpredictable and inefficient."''Senior judge hits out at 'Victorian' Scots courts'' The Scotsman, by the Newsroom, 8 May 2009 The principal statutory changes were contained in the

Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 The Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 18) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2014 to improve access to the civil justice system and while making the Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national co ...

Judicial reform in Ukraine

Other reforms

1960 Puerto Rican judicial reform referendum A referendum on judicial reform was held in Puerto Rico on 8 November 1960.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p552 The changes were approved by 78% of voters.Nohlen, p556 Results References {{Puer ...

Administration of Justice Act Administration of Justice Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom relating to the administration of justice. The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known as a Administration of J ...

Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law ...

Supreme Court reform in the United States Supreme Court of the United States Reform in the United States As the only unelected branch of the Federal government of the United States, American system of constitutional government, the Supreme Court of the United States is the subject of hea ...

Notes

External links

Judicial reform in Europe
*
Dr. Richard Cordero's website on Judicial Reforms Research & Actionable Strategy in USAThe Association for Judicial Reforms (India) working for Judicial Transparency and Efficiency in Administration of Justice in India
{{Jurisprudence * Reform