Building Judicial Capacity

After Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union the national tax system underwent significant transformations. Wide-reaching reforms to Bulgarian legal codes - civil, criminal and commercial - were implemented, previously existing legislation was overhauled, and many new areas of legislation were introduced, requiring extensive re-training of the judiciary. To deal effectively with cases relating to tax, judges require a sound understanding of tax matters through ongoing and specialized training.

Kyrgyzstan’s new Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code are set to enter into force on January 1, 2019, with the aim of improving the system of law enforcement in the country. Specifically, the new Criminal Code seeks to reform criminal law, procedure and types of criminal punishment, promote the integration of the Code into security measures, institute probation, introduce mediation in criminal matters, and support new mechanisms and approaches for the social integration of persons convicted of criminal wrongdoing.

The Kyrgyz Republic has made significant strides in working toward improvements to a justice system shaken to the core following the 2010 Revolution. While a wholesale reselection process of judges changed the landscape and provided hope for real change, it also created a judiciary staffed with many inexperienced, under-skilled first-time judges who are more easily exposed to negative influences - both perceived and real. Consequently, the public mistrusts the judiciary and holds a negative perception of it being corrupt, inefficient and dependent on other branches of government.

After Romania joined the European Union in 2007, wide-reaching reforms were implemented to the country’s civil, criminal and commercial legal codes. While acknowledging positive development in the judicial sector, concerns remain over the lack of predictability of judicial decisions, including contradictory judgements and inconsistency in the administration of justice.

Competition is crucial to developing healthy and productive markets, strengthening the private sector, reducing poverty and promoting economic growth. However, it can be challenging to develop effective competition policy, especially in transition countries. In Montenegro, judges are hampered by insufficient knowledge of competition law, limited experience with related cases, and a lack of training.

Croatia has eight first instance commercial courts and one High Commercial Court, and is committed to raising the capacity of its commercial court judges to resolve cases related to insolvency matters. The Judicial Training Academy has incorporated insolvency training into its annual program almost every year since 2010. However, there is still more progress to be made, especially regarding impediments to the resolution of non-performing loans which highlights the importance of the legal framework on insolvency law.

Over a decade has passed since the end of conflict in Liberia, but incidence of sexual and gender-based violence has not diminished. Numerous studies reveal an extremely high prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. According to an IDLO study, in 2015 1396 cases were reported to the Montserrado five one-stop clinics alone. Among those cases, 267 were reported to the Women’s and Children’s Protection Section within the Liberia National Police, 119 received an indictment, while only 3 cases went through to trial.

The Court Department under the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic currently lacks a managerial and institutional strategy necessary to address increasing commercial litigation turnover and legal preparedness among bailiffs, which undermines the credibility and functionality of the judicial system. Despite the progress achieved by the judicial system in improving its commercial law capacity, enforcement of judicial decisions remains a hindrance to an effective commercial dispute resolution framework.

The Brief (or Lessons Learned Brief), titled Avoiding Violence and Enhancing Legitimacy: Judicial Preparedness for Handling Electoral Disputes in Kenya and Beyond, explores IDLO’s support to the Kenyan judiciary to resolve electoral disputes. The 2007 electoral violence in Kenya demonstrated that disastrous consequences can follow when the electoral dispute resolution system is not trusted to deal fairly and efficiently with contested elections.

As part of IDLO’s continuous commitment to accountability and results-based management, IDLO is pleased to share this Evaluation Brief for the project, "Enhancing the Capacity of the Legal Professional in Somalia for the Delivery of Justice". The evaluation has been conducted by independent evaluation experts, supervised by IDLO’s Evaluation Unit.

Despite significant donor assistance and a marked improvement over the past decade, Afghanistan's justice institutions still suffer from a severe lack of capacity across a range of basic competencies. These deficiencies persist due to a variety of factors, including the high turnover of staff in justice sector institutions and a lack of focus on developing the internal capacity of institutions to manage their own professional development.

Tajikistan’s enforcement framework and practice is considered to be the poorest in the region according to an assessment by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  Non-enforcement and lengthy delays of court decisions, particularly with regards to commercial matters, is a significant problem which affects investor confidence and, as a result, economic indicators.

In recent years, following a growth spur which made it the fastest growing economy in the world, Mongolia has experienced rapid economic and social downturn. Although the years of growth yielded wealth and investment, the country was unable to prepare for a recession due to corruption, inflation, distortion of the local economy and environmental degradation. One of the key obstacles to sustainable growth and development is the weak and poorly prepared judiciary.

Terrorism trials in Somalia have overwhelmingly been conducted in military courts under military laws that do not afford rights to the accused as enshrined in international human rights law or the Somali Provisional Constitution. Recognizing the weakness of the current system and the security threat posed by Somalia’s overloaded prison capacity, the Government of Somalia has decided to move the bulk of the current serious crimes caseload and all future caseloads to the civilian criminal court system.

As part of IDLO’s continuous commitment to accountability and results-based management, IDLO is pleased to share this Evaluation Brief (summarised evaluation report): “Commercial Law Judicial Capacity Building in Mongolia”. The evaluation has been conducted by independent evaluation experts, supervised by IDLO’s Evaluation Unit.

Mongolia has formally joined IDLO,  the latest stage in an expanding partnership for the advancement the rule of law. The  first communist-ruled nation outside the Soviet Union, Mongolia has over the last two decades built a democracy that is untypical of its region. But for all the efforts of its political class and civil society, it has some way to go to improve governance, enhance access to justice, and reduce inequality.

Mongolia’s investment climate is chronically undermined by poor enforcement of rulings. In an effort to improve the enforcement rate, IDLO has been helping strengthen the Mongolian General Executive Agency of Court Decisions by  building the capacity of more than 200 bailiffs (12 of them bailiffs-trainers) in areas including sale and seizure of property, mediation and international arbitration, and conflict management.

Following the April 2010 Revolution in the Kyrgyz Republic, an interim government came to power promising to end many of the injustices that had prompted the overthrow of the country’s previous two presidents. Many reforms carried out during the interim period were focused on improving the foundation and application of the rule of law. Despite initial steps made towards progress in this area, the political events of 2010, including ethnic violence, significantly undermined potential progress in the rule of law.

As Yemen launched its democratic transformation, its judiciary requested IDLO’s technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of new and sitting judges and staff. Working with the High Judicial Institute in Sana’a, we have helped officials train new judges, by providing technical guidance to draft and update the Institute’s curriculum, while delivering training sessions on commercial and maritime law.

With a reliable justice system, the Judiciary of South Sudan plays a vital role to secure lasting peace and stability in South Sudan. To this end, IDLO is working with the Judiciary of South Sudan to enhance the capacity of judges, judicial support staff and judicial assistants in procedural, substantive legal subjects and English language skills. This capacity building serves to improve the quality and delivery of judicial services in line with the country’s laws and international standards.

IDLO has been working with the government of Kyrgyzstan to establish a functional, credible and transparent legal system since the adoption of the 2010 Constitution.

Despite many positive developments over the last four years, the rule of law sector continues to face problems; inadequate financing risks undermining judicial independence and makes access to justice a challenge.