Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Report 2007, around half of the people using the lower courts do not trust the judiciary, but rather perceive it as being corrupt. This perception is corroborated by the findings of Afrobarometer 2008, which reveal that many citizens consider judges and magistrates to be involved in corruption. Furthermore, one-fifth of the surveyed households who had contact with the judiciary in 2009 report to have paid a bribe, as illustrated in Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010.

Business Corruption

According to the US Department of State 2011, South African commercial law is generally enforced uniformly by an independent and objective judiciary.

As illustrated in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, the surveyed business executives give the judiciary's level of independence from influences of government, citizens and companies, a relative high score, indicating that the judicial system in South Africa is rather independent. The business executives also rank the legal framework for private companies to settle disputes and to challenge the legality of government actions and/or regulations as efficient. In addition, a majority of the surveyed companies from the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2007 perceive the South African judicial system to be fair, impartial and uncorrupted.

Political Corruption

According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, the South African judiciary acts independently without interference from the government. Constitutional provisions aiming at promoting and safeguarding judicial independence are established. The judiciary, in particular the Constitutional Court (CC), is capable of checking the executive. Some of the court's rulings were major defeats for the executive and the parliament, although the executive and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) play a decisive role in the recruitment process. According to Global Integrity 2010, there are no reports of judges being physically harmed or killed when adjudicating corruption cases. The judiciary is generally not ranked among the most corrupt institutions in the country and observers agree that corruption within the judicial system is low due to high salaries and guaranteed tenure and benefits.

Despite the judiciary being evaluated as rather independent, it has come under pressure in recent years. For example, both Freedom House 2010 and Global Integrity 2010 report that in 2008, the CC lodged a complaint with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) against a senior judge, John Hlophe, alleging that he had lobbied judges to rule in favour of corruption cases involving President Zuma. However, the Johannesburg High Court later ruled that the CC had violated Hlophe’s rights by filing its complaint in a public manner.

Lower courts in South Africa are more disposed to corruption compared to the higher panels, according to Freedom House 2011.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- It takes an average of 29 procedures and 600 days to enforce a commercial contract at a cost of 33.2% of the claim.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the independence of the judiciary from influences of members of government, citizens, or companies a score of 5 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'heavily influenced' and 7 'entirely independent').

- Business executives give the efficiency of the legal framework for private companies to settle disputes and to challenge the legality of government actions and/or regulations a score of 5 and 4.7 respectively on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'highly efficient'), constituting competitive business advantages for the country.

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 28.3% of households surveyed consider the judiciary to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- Citizens give the judiciary a score of 3.5 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

- 20.4 % of households who had contact with the judiciary in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

Afrobarometer: Summary of Results South Africa 2008:
- 39% of respondents believe that some judges and magistrates are involved in corruption.

- 19% of respondents believe that most judges and magistrates are involved in corruption.

- 7% of respondents believe that all judges and magistrates are involved in corruption.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- Business executives give the judiciary a score of 2.9 on a 5-point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2007:
- Nearly 69% of the surveyed companies perceive the judicial system to be fair, impartial and uncorrupted.