| • | Court Management and Administration |
| • | Judicial Independence |
| • | Judicial Ethics and Accountability |
| • | Strategic Planning and Program Design |
| • | Legislative Reform |
| • | Alternative Dispute Resolution |
| • | Civil Society Participation in the Judiciary |
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Projects: Europe and Eurasia
Serbia: Serbia Judicial Reform and Government Accountability Project (2011)
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On October 6, The National Center for State Courts held a launch event for USAID’s Judicial Reform & Government Accountability Project, a five-year initiative to support judicial reform and good governance in Serbia, and to further enable the country’s integration in the broader European community.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State have engaged NCSC’s assistance to support efforts by the Republic of Georgia to implement jury trials in Tbilisi beginning October 2010.
NCSC will work with Georgian judges and court administrators to develop and implement effective jury trial practices and procedures. NCSC has identified the following six critical tasks that the Georgian Courts System in Tbilisi should complete to successfully prepare for jury trials.
Tasks
NCSC launched the Kosovo Justice Support Program (KJSP) in June 2007, under contract with USAID. KJSP is a 3-year, $19.5 million follow-on project to the previous Judicial System Reform Activity in Kosovo (JSRAK).
The underlying objective of all KJSP activities is to support an independent judiciary, and to increase the operational capacity of the system to administer justice fairly and efficiently.
Tasks and accomplishments
Kosovo Assembly Passes Laws to Streamline Courts, Promote Accountability
Kosovo Assembly Strengthening Program (2009--2011)
NCSC is partnering with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) through the Kosovo Assembly Strengthening Program (KASP) to provide legislative educational activities for the Kosovo Assembly for a three-year project which began in 2009.
The activities are designed to enhance the decision-making capacity of the members of parliament (MPs) and professionalize the staff through tested management and skills training programs. The activities include the creation of the Kosovo Assembly Staff Management Institute and a series of workshops, consultations and other activities to address specific needs.
Tasks and accomplishments
Kosovo Justice System Reform Activity (2003 – 2007)
The Justice System Reform Activity (JSRA) provided broad-based assistance under four project components focusing on: development of the Judicial Council (KJC) and subordinate entities; improved effectiveness of court operations; enhanced respect for ethics; and public awareness of the justice system. The project worked with local counterparts to develop the organizational, administrative, and managerial infrastructures needed to render new justice sector institutions operational. In the area of court administration, the project assisted with re-engineering of records keeping systems, case filing and management procedures, and records automation. With respect to ethics, the project facilitated a judicial review and reappointment process and delivered judicial ethics training throughout the province. NCSC actively worked to increase the transparency and accountability of the Kosovo justice sector and assisted in creating an Audit Section of the Judicial Inspection Unit – the investigative and audit arms of the prosecutors and judges in Kosovo. Together with local counterparts, NCSC developed core performance standards for the judiciary, and as a result of an extensive caseflow management study, NCSC advised the KJC on creating the first ever set of time standards for case disposition in Kosovo, adopted by the KJC.
Rule of Law Assessment and Evaluation for USAID Montenegro (2007)
NCSC was awarded a contract by USAID/Montenegro to assess the status of judicial reform in Montenegro and to evaluate achievements under USAID-supported judicial strengthening interventions. The assessment examined the extent to which judicial reform efforts by the Montenegrin government, as supported by external donors in general and the USAID program in particular, have had an impact on the quality and timeliness of justice, the independence and integrity of the judiciary, and public trust in the courts and the justice system as a whole.
Serbia Rule of Law Project (2004 – 2006)
The objective of this program was to build support for an independent judiciary; lay the groundwork for further system reform; strengthen judicial and legal education; and develop a more efficient judicial system capable of protecting its citizens’ substantive and procedural rights. NCSC carried out detailed assessments of the operations of all courts throughout Serbia, focusing on caseflow and backlog information to develop a modern case management system and address inefficiencies in current practices. These activities were combined with training of judges, court staff, and relevant representatives of the Ministry of Justice to highlight the underlying causes of case backlog in Serbia and introduce mechanisms to reduce case delay and improve overall court efficiency. The project also provided limited equipment and material support to court libraries to improve access to information to court professionals. A second component of this project focused on assisting select law school faculties in enhancing their curriculum, introducing modern teaching techniques, as well as improving law school administration to comply with European Union standards.
Azerbaijan Legal Database Project (2004 – 2006)
The objective of the project was to improve access to the law, by making the country’s framework legal documents readily available and easily accessible to the public-at-large via the Internet and on CD-ROMs. As of the end of the project, NCSC created a database containing approximately 11,350 framework legal documents, 16 codified Codes, over 760 codified framework legal documents, and the associated metadata records for all documents. To ensure sustainability, personnel within the Government of Azerbaijan were trained in all activities required to maintain, update, and distribute the database contents.
Bosnia Fostering an Investment- Friendly Lending Environment (2003 – 2006)
This project addressed four goals: 1) make the collateral law regime work; 2) make bankruptcy and liquidation laws and procedures work; 3) assist Bosnia in its accession to the WTO; and 4) streamline the ability of the Bosnian courts to adjudicate commercial cases in a timely, predictable and efficient manner. Under the last task, NCSC provided a court administration expert who is tasked with analyzing court administration and related IT procurement needs. The expert’s recommendations led to an improved of ability of the commercial courts to manage their workloads more efficiently. Also, NCSC expertise assisted in the procurement and installation of hardware and software for the new and enhanced Court Administration and Case Management procedures and practices into all 70 first and second instance courts in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska, as well as in the Brcko District. NCSC is also provided technical assistance for introduction of new Commercial Dispute Resolution (CDR) methods, designed to relieve Commercial Divisions of minor claims as well as from the cases more appropriately handled through the new CDR methods. In addition, this technical assistance included training on the use of new software and hardware as well as introduction of the new procedures and practices.