Trip Report: Myanmar Promoting Rule of Law Project Pilot Court Implementation & Judicial Professional Development

The project aimed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Myanmar judiciary through the implementation of a case management system and judicial professional development. A three-day Caseflow Management pilot court implementation training workshop was conducted for pilot court judges, court staff, and members of the Supreme Court Case Management Committee. The workshop focused on developing an action plan for implementation by each pilot court and the Supreme Court Committee. As a result, all pilot courts indicated their readiness to implement the new case management program effective July 1, 2015. The workshop also produced revisions to the case management forms and procedures, including the creation of separate criminal and civil case management conference record/order forms, procedures for monitoring and scheduling case management conferences or pretrial conferences, and new procedures for automatic scheduling of case management conferences at the initial hearing. A two-day Judicial Professional Development and Performance Evaluation Workshop was held, covering fundamental elements of a comprehensive judicial professional development strategy, including training, performance evaluation, model professional code of ethics, and creation of a Judicial Qualifications Committee approach to enforcement of the code of conduct and discipline. The workshop resulted in the creation of a Professional Development and Ethics Committee that will use the ABA standards of professional ethics to revise the current code of professional ethics. The pilot courts and Supreme Court Case Management Committee made the decision to fully implement the new Caseflow Management Plan on July 1, 2015. However, completion of the activities by July 1, 2015, will be challenging, and intensive PRLP follow-up support in the next two weeks and continuous direct support over the next 6-12 months will be necessary to develop and evaluate the demonstration pilot court model for expansion in the near future to other courts. The new Case Management Plan and procedures are comprehensive and make broad-reaching institutional changes in the entire judicial process from point of filing through trial. The plan implements all features of a modern Differentiated Case Management system, which has the potential for significant impact on case backlog, delay, and citizen public trust in the courts. PRLP staff developed an Action Plan for PRLP support to the pilot court implementation, which includes direct on-site support by PRLP staff in all pilot courts, weekly meetings of the Management Committee for judges and the Chief Clerk, and monthly meetings with the Supreme Court Case Management Committee. Basic automation and PC support to the pilot courts is also a high and immediate priority, including the in-court production of case management form templates and the installation of an excel case tracking database program.