19th Quarterly Report: Jordan Rule of Law Program

The project's efforts focused on developing strategic plans to maximize results during the last four months leading up to project closeout. ROLP increased support for Jordan's judiciary on several fronts, developing valuable activities that showcase the project's commitment to enhancing the transparency, sustainability, and effectiveness of Jordan's judiciary. The project initiated and finalized several key communications tools that will promote transparency in the Judicial Council (JC). The project assisted with reviewing and printing the 2012 JC Annual Report, developed and sent a summary report to the King, and is currently working on an English translation. The project also facilitated the printing and distribution of the Cassation Court's first Quarterly Judgment Gazette, and the second and third editions of the Gazette are in development. Additionally, the project procured and delivered a series of legal texts to the Cassation Court's library, and launched the English version of the JC website. These new communication tools demonstrate the judiciary's commitment to civil society engagement, accountability, and transparency. The project conducted a highly anticipated anti-corruption-themed study tour to the U.S. in late June. Ten Jordanian judges and prosecutors studied various models of prosecution-centered anti-corruption initiatives at various locations in the U.S. Participants engaged with twenty-four professionals representing seventeen distinct legal institutions over the course of 10 days. As a result of the insight and knowledge gained from the study tour, the Jordanian judiciary is now better positioned to form concrete ideas on how to move forward with anti-corruption strategies and develop more sophisticated anti-corruption strategies in Jordan. To improve the public's access to justice in Jordan, and to lay the groundwork to nurture confidence and respect for the judiciary, ROLP hired a local consultant to conduct an assessment on access to justice in Jordan. A final report providing recommendations for improvements and activities will be ready early next quarter. The project also initiated, followed up, and completed various procurements and contracts, achieving substantial progress in improving the execution of civil and criminal judgments in the pilot project courts of Zarqa, West Amman, and their corresponding public prosecution offices. The project continued to support the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) IT needs by assessing the electronic linkages to various public and governmental entities, the public prosecution offices, and the MoJ itself. The project contracted a service provider and is currently developing the scope of work for this activity. ROLP, along with the MoJ technical IT staff, also continued to assess the Judiciary's overall IT and automation status and needs. The project completed a draft assessment report this quarter and will follow up next quarter with a report review workshop for MoJ in order to develop and finalize a long-term strategic IT enhancement plan. The project's efforts to promote an independent and empowered judiciary while increasing transparency and accountability were successful. The Judicial Council and its Administrative Units (AU) are continuing to develop, mature, and strengthen. The judiciary has actively embraced the practice of planning and reporting, and ROLP-facilitated provision of and timely access to appropriately resourced legal libraries and updated information on cases and decisions continues to enhance the work and research capabilities of judges, lawyers, and prosecutors. The various measures and communication tools adopted as a result of ROLP activities have set the stage to empower the Judicial Council and the judiciary in general to be more transparent in their work and procedures, and more independent in their decision making. The project's support for the Judicial Council's 2012 Annual Report was successful, with the report being printed and distributed to 1500 relevant stakeholders. A Report Summary was also created and sent to the King. The 2012 JC Annual Report captures the JC's accomplishments and future endeavors. An English translation of the Report is currently in the pipeline and will be ready early next quarter. The project also printed two thousand copies of the first edition of the Cassation Court's Quarterly Judgment Gazette and distributed them to judges, courts, and various other institutions throughout Jordan by the AU. ROLP and the AU are currently compiling judgments and working on the upcoming 2nd and 3rd editions. The project's support for the Judicial Council's website was also successful, with the project reviewing, editing, and finalizing the English version of the original JC website and uploading and launching the translated content. JC's bilingual website will help extend JC's outreach and communication efforts both internally and externally, increasing the visibility of its core objectives and key functions. The project also procured and delivered 320 legal texts to the Cassation Court's Law Library, which will further enrich the court's library and provide judges with additional tools to enhance their legal research capacities. The project's support for the Grant Program - Judicial Council and the Communications/Media Unit was also successful, with grantee activities including the submission of a draft of the administration's hierarchy and the training of the Media Unit's 3 staff members. The staff training coincided with the allocation of new office space at the Cassation Court