Judicial magistrates and prosecutors will be submitting a bill to the government in the coming days to guarantee the financial independence of the courts. The initiative emerges as a solution to the challenges affecting the judicial sector, including salary issues, security, transport, medical care and housing.
According to Esmeraldo Matavele, president of the Mozambican Association of Judges (AMJ), a specialised commission is working on the preliminary proposal, which will be handed over to the Executive for later submission to Parliament.
According to Matavele, this law could solve around 90 per cent of the problems affecting the judiciary, providing greater financial autonomy and better conditions for the exercise of the function.
In the meantime, the magistrates are waiting for the government to resolve specific issues, such as the appropriate framework for the Single Salary Table (TSU). The president of the AMJ said that the association had been involved in the process, had given its opinion and was waiting for the government to approve the necessary changes.
With regard to corruption in the judicial sector, Matavele emphasised that cases are decreasing. Until 2022, there was an annual average of two to three judges expelled for involvement in illicit practices, but since 2023, there have been no cases of removal for corruption, nor are there any disciplinary proceedings underway that could result in such a sanction.
According to him, judges are increasingly aware of the need to maintain professional integrity, avoiding involvement in acts of corruption and the misuse of funds from the courts’ coffers, emphasising that the previous cases were mostly related to the misappropriation of these funds for personal purposes.
During his speech, Matavele condemned what he labelled the disproportionate use of force by the police in containing public demonstrations, warning that such actions often result in fatalities. The magistrate called for police restraint and encouraged citizens to exercise their right to demonstrate in an orderly and peaceful manner, without vandalising property or blocking roads.
With the proposal for the financial independence of the courts, the magistrates hope not only to strengthen the judicial system, but also to ensure greater stability and decent conditions for the exercise of the magistracy, guaranteeing a more efficient and autonomous functioning of the sector.
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