50. On the other hand, strengthening public guidance and information has also been an important dimension. Trial procedure information is widely accessed by all those concerned. The courts also notify well in advance in the public domain through a special section of the daily newspapers so that anyone concerned or implicated or with interest is informed about a case. The date, time, procedures and the requirements are thus made public. This supplements the availability of information to the accused and plaintiff in which registered written summons on the planned court session are given. The office of registrar also provides information to all those implicated and concerned in its daily routine work. This also includes the written decision on the litigation few days after the court proceeding finishes. 51. Public defense still remains a major challenge of the justice system in the country. So far there is no fully-fledged system of public defense as an institutionalized system that runs in public-private partnership. Defendants who are deaf and dump, juvenile and those charged with offense punishable with rigorous imprisonment exceeding ten years have access to a legal right to public defense. Accordingly, the Court assigns a lawyer (a private practitioner) to represent an individual charged in the above mentioned situations. The Ministry of Justice has also assigned public defense from its personnel to represent individuals who are eligible for public defense in the High Courts that function outside the capital Asmara. 52. In general, the basic tasks and challenges in the administration of justice are the following:     Updating procedural guidelines in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies Strengthen coordination between judiciary and other law enforcement elements Awareness raising of the public on rights and duties and responsibilities in the effective implementation of the new national codes Address Institution Capacity challenges Establishment of effective data management of the judiciary process, etc….. Zero Tolerance on Corruption 53. Eritrea inherited a devastated economy, destabilized social fabrics and a decadent system of administration with corruptible culture systematically established by successive colonial aims. Hence, as explained earlier, the Special Court was created under Proclamation No 85/1996 with mandates to investigate corruption. The policy that underpins its foundation is the positive attitude of “zero tolerance for corruption”. 54. Since independence, continuous campaign to sensitize the people and the government institutions on the matter has been going on. Nevertheless, there is no development corruption in the country as development resources and practices are put to use promptly with high level of accountability to the people. However, administrative malpractices do surface in daily life but are vigorously dealt with both legally and administratively. Hence, continuous struggle has been going to deny space to instances of favoritism, bribery, negligence in public responsibility, lack of accountability, etc. These are greatly inherited Page 15 of 100

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