Judical Independence in Transition

Strenthening the rule of law has become a key factor for the transition to democracy and the protection of human rights. As such it plays a vital role in the activities of those organizations engaged in supporting countries in transition. Though the significance of the rule of law has materialized in international standard setting the question of implementation is largely unexplored. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - the sucessor of the CSCE which helped to end the cold war - is now active in supporting states of the former Soviet Union and South-Eastern Europe in the development of strategies to enhance the rule of law. A central element of this endeavour is judicial independence which protects the courts in their adjudication from influence and pressure contrary to the law. While most foreign and international rule of law initiatives without much success have tried to transplant Western institutional safeguards to transitional countries, it is now time to reconsider.