For the past week Parisa and I have been working on the judicial training materials that were composed for facilitation of judicial reform in Serbia. There were so many important aspects to the judicial training process that I had not considered. We take for granted that in Canada there are commissions and boards that continuously make decisions on continuing legal education for the judiciary. I now understand the amount of work it takes to begin a judicial training system from the ground up. Prior to the establishment of the centre it was found that some judges came directly out of law school without any formal judicial training and many had less than three years experience on the bench. Below I shall outline some of the elements that I have found particularly important to establishment of a Judicial Training Centre.


Comparative Analysis: Both regional and global best practice analysis has been a target of my work. Judicial training has been around for decades in countries around the world. There is much to be learned from the trials of other countries; what they found to be essential and what elements could be improved upon. At the regional level, one can gain a better appreciation for local needs and focuses. There are certain practices that neighbouring countries use that are better tailored to the Serbian system.

Capacity: The judiciary should be capable of carrying out its own training. This requires an independant judiciary that is transparent, accountable, sustainable and maintains the confidence of the people. A number of things must be in place before full capacity is achieved. Programs to combat corrpution and sufficient funds to fulfill duties (pay administration, lecturers, maintain facility, etc.) are often two key aspects that should be addressed.

Partnerships: Oftentimes there are existent organizations within a country that are capable of carrying out certain functions with ease. These can include universities, NGOs, etc. It is important to build relations with these partners both for resource and funding purposes. Partnerships may also ensure that more areas of training are covered. This latter point was evident not only from my current work, but also from the training that we took part in prior to our fellowships. NGOs and associations that specialize in certain fields can bring in knowledge for training in a variety of fields including human rights, youth justice, etc.

Awareness: The judiciary, government officials and the public should have a better awareness of human rights. Given the animosity between certain groups in post-conflict areas, it is especially important that judges are senistized to the conditions of the vulnerable, and displaced people within the country. In addition, the judiciary should be trained to better communciate with various groups and the media so that messages are well understood, people understand their rights and feel that the judicial system is accessible.

Working on this project has really strengthened my understanding of judicial training and the reasons why it is important.

***Above: Parliament of Serbia