Sustainable justice reform

The project will be implemented by a Project Implementation Unit, Jamaican entities, and a U.S. contractor. Court system management will be improved by installing court administrators (CA"s) in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Resident Magistrate (RM) courts. To this end, the project will institutionalize an intensive CA training program covering the constitutional/statutory and professional aspects of court administration, information and records management, the use of automation and technology, docket management, supervisory and personnel management skills, financial management and budgeting, facility maintenance, and negotiation skills. This component will also: (1) develop a more efficient manual recordkeeping system; (2) train judges in calendar management; (3) develop the capability of the Office of the Supreme Court Registrar to collect and report statistical information to the courts; (4) test the use of automation in RM courts; (5) train clerks of court in routine administration, thereby allowing CA"s to spend more time on criminal prosecution functions; (6) restore the training and certification program for deputy clerks; (7) acquaint judges with the functions of court administrators through executive workshops; and (8) provide in-service training to Family Court social workers. The project will also upgrade courthouse facilities. Targets are to: refurbish the Supreme Court Building; renovate elect RM courts and eliminate marginal courthouses; inventory and develop a plan to maintain the physical assets of RM courts; computerize court accounting systems; and upgrade the physical accommodations of the three Family Courts. The project will finance policy studies by private Jamaican or overseas firms. The following subjects have been identified as particularly relevant: (1) the compensation and incentive system for court professionals; (2) court filing and user fees; (3) crime classification; and (4) the feasibility of a period of mandatory paid public service by fledgling lawyers, of reducing RMs" case load, and of eliminating/waiving preliminary enquiry as a way of reducing the criminal justice workload. The public- private sector Justice Coordinating Council will supervise this component. Private sector efforts will focus on supporting the JBA in the areas of: general institutional development (including "twinning" arrangements with U.S. counterparts); desktop publishing of legal publications; law-related public education; and continuing education programs for lawyers. The project will help the Mediation Council of Jamaica, recently created through a Ford Foundation grant, to provide mediation services nationwide (and thereby relieve the already overburdened court system) by establishing mediation centers (including, in each project year, one major regional unit and five community-based units) and a network of mediation services to serve the business community. The Council will also receive TA for institutional strengthening.