The law devised this mechanism in an attempt to honour this underlying tenet of criminal law while preventing an accused person from absconding. Legitimacy expressed by the people is known as public legitimacy and it is an important component under the wide umbrella of judicial legitimacy. This corrosion of public legitimacy threatens the foundations of our democracy and the rule of law. The Rule of Law and Legitimacy of CourtsSource: The WJP Rule of Law IndexOne of the components evaluated under the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law index is the efficacy of a country’s criminal justice. In essence, the criminal justice score, is a score on the criminal justice system’s public legitimacy.

Source: Daily Nation February 21, 2020 15:09 UTC