Judge General of the Court of Administration Matters of Ulaanbaatar, Kh.Batsuren, talks to our journalist about the court.

Since yours is a relatively new court, will it be easier to introduce reforms here?
We have jurisdiction over 200 state administrative organizations of nine districts. Judicial reforms depend on how many judges there are for the population under the court.

What have been the highlights of your work?
We began work on June 1, 2004 and have had our share of both failure and success. We want to improve our service to the people so that their complaints are promptly looked into and clear decisions are taken in administrative cases. Since it is a relatively new court, citizens should understand its procedures to get the best results from it.

There have been complaints that the court has applied the law on amnesty to high officials…
We have no authority in criminal matters, and the pardons we have granted related to tax-related offenses. All citizens have equal rights before courts and it is not true that we favored large tax payers over small tax payers.

What is your opinion on allegations of corruption in courts?
I previously worked in the General Council of Courts which deals with all 429 judges in the state. We regularly received requests from judges for loans to buy an apartment or to pay students’ fees. If judges took bribes, they would not make such requests. These days, all state officials are accused of corruption.

How is the new court to hear appeals against judgments by your court functioning?
Earlier such appeals were heard by the State Supreme Court. It is good that we have a special court, but the appeals should be decided by judges who have not worked at our court.

What do you think is the main result to come out of the recent National Forum on Judicial Reform and Justice?
There were 14 panels but that did not cover the gamut of necessary reforms. The success of the forum lay in the open discussion of the difficulties judged faced in reaching the right decision. The participants including judges, prosecutors and citizens were unanimous on the need for judicial reform. Reforms will help us correct our mistakes and thus improve our work.