DISCRETION AND CORRUPTION - THE CHILEAN JUDICIARY

Corruption in the judiciary and its effects on the budget of that bran ch of government, the efficiency of justice (prompt or belated) and it s quality (biased or impartial) are analyzed. The discretionary powers of the Supreme Court and those granted to judges to manage their cour ts, calendar and case load, and the hierarchical administrative struct ures of judiciaries, which function as a queueing system, may be used as a tool to maximize graft. These phenomena reveal links between inst itutional forms and incentives. Using the case of Chile and the except ional emergence of corruption within the judiciary during the military dictatorship, the role of democracy as a punishing and preventive mec hanism is highlighted.