Dingake on judicial selection and judicial independence

And while most scholars agree that judicial independence is critical to maintaining the rule of law and the effective administration of justice, it is clear that some methods for selecting or appointing judges can result in a judiciary that is — or is perceived to be — beholden to a particular branch of government or to individuals or special interests that may facilitate or influence a judicial appointment.

Justice Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake of the National and Supreme Courts of Papua New Guinea addressed the relationship between judicial independence and judicial selection in delivering the 2019 William Beatty Jurist-in-Residence Lecture at the Southern Illinois University School of Law. He offered as case studies the examples of judicial selection processes in four countries of Africa, noting the advantages and disadvantages of each. His remarks were later published in the Southern Illinois Law Journal (Vol. 44 No. 3). Here, he talks with Judicature International about the unique challenges judicial selection processes can pose to the ideal of judicial independence and what that means for protecting the rule of law.