Backlogs cause circumvention---rightsholders will forfeit protections AND it strips the deterrent from the plan.

Long delays in the resolution of court cases are a common problem in both developing and developed countries and impede anti-corruption efforts. Technical solutions such as hiring more judges and reforming cumbersome procedures, when used alone, have proved ineffective. Political economy analysis can reveal how the interests and incentives of judges, lawyers, clerks, and litigants interact to create delays, providing a basis for more effective reforms. But the success of such reforms depends on support from senior judges and pressure from civil society.

Prevalence and consequences of court delay

Lengthy delays in the processing of court cases are especially common in developing countries. A World Bank estimate of the average time to resolve a simple commercial dispute found that while courts in Singapore can complete such a case in five months, in Egypt it takes 33 months, in Colombia and Liberia 43 months, and in Bangladesh over 48 months (World Bank 2014). Reports from the Philippines, South Africa, and Peru, among other countries, speak of courts that are clogged with cases, imposing long waits for resolution. The Indian High Court in Delhi has tens of thousands of cases pending, some 600 of which have been awaiting adjudication for more than 20 years. In Nepal corruption cases take as long as seven years to try, and an appeal can add another five years or more.

Court delay is costly – to the parties to the case and to society as a whole. The lapse of time between the filing of a case and its resolution lessens the chances that the dispute will be justly decided; witnesses may die or disappear and memories can fade. Frustrated by long waits, parties may abandon the effort to vindicate their rights, and a few may turn to violence. Delay undermines public confidence in the court system and in government itself.

There are economic consequences as well. Businesses are reluctant to trade with parties they do not know, fearing that if these individuals breach a contract the business will be without a remedy. Banks hesitate to lend to new enterprises out of concern that if the borrower defaults, resort to the courts will be futile. Applicants wrongly denied government benefits or permits must wait years for court review of the bureaucracy’s decision.

Endemic delay undercuts efforts to control corruption, for it robs the criminal law of its deterrent effect. The one consistent finding across recent reviews of anti-corruption policy is that it is fear of punishment that dissuades public servants from taking a bribe or committing other corrupt acts (Hanna et al. 2011). If corrupt actors think they can evade consequences by delaying their case, they will discount the threat of punishment. Where court delays are severe, it thus makes little difference how stringent the penalties on the books may be.