Judicial Independence in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Myth or Reality?

Soon after the first democratic elections were organized in 2006, the Democratic Republic of Congo engaged in a series of juridical reforms to ensure that the judiciary is free from interference from the other branches of government: the legislature and the executive. Accordingly, Law No 06/020 of 2006 on the Status of Magistrates and Law No 08/013 of 2008 on the Organization and Functioning of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary were enacted. This article examines judicial independence in the Democratic Republic of Congo today, and assesses the impact of the newly adopted legislation by comparing it with the preceding statutory provisions on the functioning of the judiciary. Do the laws on the status of magistrates and on the organization and functioning of the supreme council of the judiciary, as recently enacted, effectively strengthen the independence of the judiciary?