Editing Judicial independence (section)

==Advantages==
Judicial independence serves as a safeguard for rights and privileges from a [[limited government]] and prevents [[executive (government)|executive]] and [[legislature|legislative]] encroachment upon those rights.<ref>{{citation|author=Alexander Hamilton|author-link=Alexander Hamilton|contribution=The Federalist No. 78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2-7DDxR-3KQC&pg=PA524|editor=Jacob E. Cooke|title=The Federalist|location=Middletown, Conn.|publisher=[[Wesleyan University Press]]|year=1982|orig-year=1961|pages=521–530 at 524|isbn=978-0-819-53016-5|quote=The complete independence of the courts of justice is particularly essential in a limited constitution. By a limited constitution I understand one which contains certain specified exceptions to the legislative authority ... Limitations of this kind can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice; whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing.}}.</ref> It serves as a foundation for the [[rule of law]] and [[democracy]]. The rule of law means that all authority and power must come from an ultimate source of law. Under an independent judicial system, the courts and its officers are free from inappropriate intervention in the [[judiciary]]'s affairs. With this independence, the judiciary can safeguard people's rights and freedoms which ensure equal protection for all.<ref>{{citation|author=Li-ann Thio|author-link=Thio Li-ann|chapter=Rule of Law within a Non-liberal 'Communitarian' Democracy: The Singapore Experience|editor=Randall Peerenboom|title=Asian Discourses of Rule of Law: Theories and Implementation of Rule of Law in Twelve Asian Countries, France and the U.S.|location=London; New York, N.Y.|publisher=[[Routledge]]Curzon|year=2004|pages=183–224 at 188|isbn=978-0-415-32613-1|quote=As the partisan administration of law erodes rule of law, a central institutional requirement is an independent, accessible judiciary.}}.</ref>

The effectiveness of the law, and the respect that people have for the law and the government which enacts it, is dependent upon the judiciary's independence to mete out fair decisions. Furthermore, judicial independence is a pillar of economic growth, as multinational businesses and investors have confidence to invest in the economy of a nation which has a strong and stable judiciary that is insulated from interference.<ref>{{citation|author=Roger K. Warren|title=The Importance of Judicial Independence and Accountability|url=https://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/judicial/id/207/download |format=PDF |publisher=[[National Center for State Courts]]|date=January 2003 |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111072722/https://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/judicial/id/207/download |archive-date=11 November 2018 |ref=CITEREFWarren (2003)}}</ref> The judiciary's role in deciding the validity of presidential and parliamentary elections also necessitates judicial independence.<ref>Constitution, Art. 93A, and the {{Singapore legislation|title=Presidential Elections Act|cap=204A|ed=2007}}, ss. 71–80; and the {{Singapore legislation|title=Parliamentary Elections Act|cap=218|ed=2007}}, ss. 92–101.</ref>

===Economic ===
[[Constitutional economics]] studies issues such as the proper distribution of national wealth including government spending on the judiciary. In transitional and developing countries, spending on the judiciary may be controlled by the executive. This undermines the principle of judicial independence because it creates a financial dependence of the judiciary on the executive. It is important to distinguish between two methods of corruption of the judiciary: the state (through budget planning and privileges) being the most dangerous, and private. State corruption of the judiciary can impede the ability of businesses to optimally facilitate the growth and development of a [[market economy]].<ref>Peter Barenboim, Defining the rules, The European Lawyer, Issue 90, October 2009</ref>

In some countries, the constitution also prohibits the legislative branch from reducing salaries of sitting judges.