SANAA, 1 January 2005 — Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has carried out a major reshuffle of the country’s court system in a bid to tackle overwhelming corruption in the judiciary, state media reported yesterday.
The council, headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has dismissed some 22 judges proved to have been involved in corruption, newspapers said.
Abdullah Farwan, former chair of the Central Organization for Control and Audit, has been made the new head of the Judicial Inspection Authority, a body which monitors the performance of judges. Some 24 judges have been appointed to the authority.
Farwan replaces Abdul-Malik Al-Jindari, who was appointed as head of the Justice Ministry’s Technical Bureau.
Two civil judges were promoted and transferred to the SJC and 25 others were promoted to the Supreme Court.
A total of 159 judges exchanged posts in provincial courts of appeal, and three new judges were appointed to the military court of appeal.
Some 68 chief judges of district courts, 172 session judges of district courts, 124 prosecutors at courts of appeal and 187 prosecutors at district courts also exchanged posts.
Fifty-two judicial officers were appointed at the attorney general’s office, and 23 heads of public prosecutions swapped positions.
The reshuffle is the fourth and largest in Yemen’s judiciary since the country launched its judicial reform program in 1997, backed by the World Bank and other donors.
In December 2003, the SJC fired 13 judges found involved in corruption. The council, which is the highest judicial body, dismissed 35 judges and prosecutors in 2002 on corruption charges.
Corruption and inefficiency in the court system are blamed by observers for the low level of foreign private sector investment in Yemen.
