Judges' Decisions in Accordance with the Law and Personal Attitudes - Essay Example

Let us explore some circumstances where the rule of the law will prevail and where it will not. According to Ohchr.org (2012), the major factor that will ensure that a judge renders a decision in accordance with the law is enabling a society where the judiciary is: independent, impartial, zero tolerant of corruption, committed to the rule of law, and respects human rights. In such a society, one can predict that the judge will uphold the law. This is because the judge is expected to be transparent, independent, impartial, and professional and should not decide cases arbitrarily following their personal preferences. In the event of non-compliance, there are checks and balances to ensure compliance.                                                                                                    

On the other hand, in societies where impunity, disregard of the rule of law, and violation of human rights thrive, one can predict that a judge in this setup will make a ruling according to their personal attitudes and in line with the dictates of their political masters and superiors. In these societies, corruption and bribery still dominate; hence objective judgments are hard to come by. Members of such societies still hold dearly to a barbaric belief that justice can be bought. Some of the factors that can promote judgment prejudices and jeopardize objectivity are race, sex, social origin, culture, color, religion, property, political opinion, and kinship. This can be illustrated using one of the aspects; political opinion. Judges are human beings and they exist in society as such, they have their political orientations. When a judge is faced with the challenging task of making judgments that are political in nature, one can predict that the judgment will be inclined to his or her personal attitudes reinforced by political opinions. This will be the case with the other mentioned factors. This happens particularly if society does not respect and uphold the rule of law. It is critical that judges embrace professionalism and make objective judgments in accordance with the rule of law to ensure justice for all.