Corruption has a negative impact on the establishment of rule of law in new democracies. It stalls the process of democratic consolidation because corrupt politicians do not have an incentive to allow the establishment of enforcement mechanisms and accountability mechanisms. This is a comparative study of two Central and Eastern European new democracies, Romania and Czech Republic. It reveals the processes through which corruption harms the rule of law and the legitimacy of the judicial systems. It uncovers the importance of specific institutions in combating corruption. Looking at ways in which corruption affects the rule of law is important in order to understand why certain authoritarian regimes become consolidated democracies and others do not. This paper also explores the problems the EU faces with the new member states due to lack of enforcement mechanisms after the accession process. This paper is based on fieldwork conducted in 2011. I analyze interviews with over 50 political, judicial elites and members of the civil society along with media accounts and specific documents and reports.
