Introduction to the Judicial Education Center

The OECS Judicial Education Institute serves judges from six Caribbean countries at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

Anguilla	Antigua & Barbuda	British Virgin Islands
Commonwealth of Dominica	Grenada	Montserrat
Saint Kitts & Nevis	Saint Lucia	Saint Vincent & The Grenadines

History

The Judicial Education Institute of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court was launched in 1997, as a committee of the Chief Justice's office, shortly after Chief Justice Sir Dennis Byron and Justice of Appeal Albert Matthew returned from attending a judicial education intensive study programme, organized by the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute in Halifax, Canada.  The CJEI has actually played a seminal role in training OECS judicial educators, and that body and the JEI have maintained a mutually enriching and productive relationship over the years.  

At the inception of the JEI, a small ad hoc committee managed the Institute and the office of the Chief Registrar lent administrative support to its work. Justice of Appeal Albert Matthew was appointed Director of Studies, and the Institute, during this period, organized a series of programmes, targeting judges, lawyers and trial court registrars, with a view to refining and gaining a common understanding of the draft Civil Procedure Rules 2000. This committee, with an addition of other Judges, was established to produce a Code of Ethics for Judges.

As the pace and scope of the reform programme picked up, more and more onerous demands were placed on the JEI. It became obvious that the work of the Institute could not be properly accomplished with an ad hoc management committee. The JEI needed to be placed on a more formal and established institutional footing. Office space was required. There was need for dedicated and permanent staff. The Institute needed to have its own budget.

2001 - 2003

This stage of the JEI was characterized by institutional strengthening simultaneously with a profusion of educational and training activities. During this period, the Institute was provided with office space and staff dedicated to the functioning of the Institution.

Justice Adrian Saunders was appointed Chairman of the body, and a full time Programme Coordinator, Ms. Alana Simmons, was employed in 2001. The executive officer reported to an executive committee initially comprising the Hon. Chief Justice Sir Dennis Byron; Justice Adrian Saunders; Mrs. Ianthea Leigertwood-Octave, Chief Registrar; Ms. Floreta Nicholas, Senior Magistrate; and Ms. Angus Smith, Human Resources Officer of the ECSC.  The executive officer's responsibilities covered the execution and implementation of the programmes of the Institute, the preparation of programme budgets and the maintenance of the records and documents of the JEI.

Two years later, the office of Programme Director of the Institute was created, further strengthening the JEI.  This post remains vacant after being filled for a little over a year.

An Advisory Board, comprised of distinguished and experienced personnel drawn from academia, the Bar, the Executive and the retired Judiciary, was also established during this period.  The intention was that this body would assist in the policy-making of the JEI, and advise on strategies that could be pursued in carrying out the work of the Institute. 

The JEI made tremendous strides during this period. The body began consciously and systematically to regard itself as a critical player in the reform process.  Particular attention was paid to gearing the judicial officers for their role in a reformed justice system.

The Institute also took upon itself the task of ensuring that every new judicial appointee was given a full orientation before embarking on his/her duties.  This entailed the organizing of orientation and mentoring programmes for new judges, masters and magistrates. 

The Institute also continued to organize special programmes for judicial officers to enhance their competency levels in emerging areas of the law.  The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) sponsored a symposium on Intellectual property for the judiciary in June 2001 in Saint Lucia. In December 2001, the Caribbean Anti-Money Laundering Programme (CALP) conducted a seminar in Grenada, and in March 2002, there was a Telecommunications Workshop in Saint Lucia. During each of these events international experts shared their knowledge and experience with the local judiciary.

The JEI is keenly aware that critical to the success of the reform programme is the enhancement of the skills of the court staff.  In particular, it has been necessary to build up a cadre of trial court administrators for each of the trial courts in the jurisdiction.

Court administration is a novel concept in the judiciary's lexicon. Fundamentally, what it imports is that those functions that are essential to the running of the courts, but which are non-adjudicative (and which therefore need not be handled by judicial officers) should be placed under the superintendence of a non judicial officer called a court administrator. Such functions would include, for example, the management of the court's human resources, library facilities, plant and equipment, etc.

Placing these management responsibilities under the supervision of an efficient court administrator frees up the judicial officers to a lot more time to what they do best, i.e. trying cases, adjudicating disputes.

In October 2002 therefore, in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts in the USA, the Institute organized an extensive training programme in court administration. The programme which lasted for ten days was convened in Saint Lucia, and was attended by Registrars, prospective Court Administrators and other senior Court office personnel.   

During the period 2001-2003, the JEI moved towards becoming a body that certified its trainees as conforming to particular standards.  This was another manifestation of the growth of the Institute.

In October 2002, Mrs. Deborah Mendez-Bowen, Mediation Consultant, trained a core of mediators in Saint Lucia, and all but three of them were certified by the JEI as Approved Mediators.  These persons have successfully mediated disputes in the High Court connected Mediation Pilot Project in Saint Lucia, as well as in the Magistrates Court in Saint Lucia.   

The period under review also witnessed a growing relationship between the Institute and the Judicial Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) based in Chile.  The JSCA is dedicated to promoting excellence in the justice systems of Latin and Central America.  This resulted in the sponsoring of a workshop on the value and utility of statistics as a tool for managing justice systems, held in Saint Lucia in April 2003, for judges, registrars and court administrators.

Apart from the CJEI and the JSCA, the Judicial Education Institute also established working relationships with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges' Association (CMJA) and the Caribbean Law Institute (CLI).

Structure

The Judicial Education Institute is a committee of the office of the Chief Justice. The Institute is governed by an Advisory Board, which is appointed by the Chief Justice. The Advisory Board, which is responsible for policy, curriculum and faculty development, is comprised as follows:

• Chairman – a Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

• 3 Judges – 2 nominated by the members of the Judiciary.

• 1 Magistrate

• 1 Registrar

• 1 Representative of the Council of Legal Education

• President of the OECS Bar Association or his nominee

• Legal Advisor of the OECS Secretariat

• Ex officio members:

- Chief Justice
- Chief Registrar
- Court Administrator

A Management Committee oversees the everyday operations of the Institute and is comprised as follows:

• Chief Justice

• Chairman of the Institute

• Chief Registrar

• Court Administrator

The Institute is staffed by:

• Programme Director

• Programme Coordinator

• Administrative/Secretarial Support

Organizational Chart

Mandates, Objectives and Standards

Mandate

1. To enhance the administration of justice through education and training by highlighting and providing the knowledge, skills and awareness required by judicial officers and their support staff to perform their responsibilities with excellence.
2. To engender a high level of public awareness, about the judicial system.
3. To act as a certifying body for training programmes.

Objectives

1. To identify the educational needs of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, including skills training, professional development and personal growth.
2. To ensure that all justice sector personnel, i.e. Judges, Magistrates, Registrars and judicial support staff, are provided with the knowledge and skills to fairly, efficiently and competently carry out their functions.
3. To improve and enhance the administration of justice through ongoing training, including the efficient management of court processes and delay reduction.
4. To promote the professional and personal development of all justice sector personnel to the highest standards.
5. To maintain an inventory of, and disseminate to the judiciary, information about programmes throughout the ECSC that are related to judicial education.
6. To develop and assist courts and cooperating agencies in the development of programmes to meet the needs of the judiciary.
7. To keep the ECSC judiciary informed about new legislation and other relevant developments; and to develop programmes to achieve these ends.
8. To provide technical and organizational assistance to the courts and other agencies in the delivery of their services.
9. To provide certification for education/training activities of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
10. To systematically produce, package, catalogue and disseminate judicial tools/materials (and other essential legal and judicial information) in a manner consistent with the philosophy of judicial reform.
11. To explore avenues for distance education.
12. To establish linkages with organizations that share similar goals.

Standards

1. Each Judge, Master, Magistrate, Registrar and Court Administrator in the Eastern Caribbean Court System should spend a minimum of 70 hours per calendar year participating in judicial education programmes.
2. Judicial support staff in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court system should spend a minimum of 40 hours per calendar year attending judicial education programmes.
3. All newly appointed justice sector personnel must undergo an Orientation Programme approved by the JEI upon/shortly after commencement of assignment/duties.
4. All newly appointed justice sector personnel should receive a refresher course or follow up course approximately one year after commencement of judicial duties.
5. All justice sector personnel should participate in continuing education programmes planned and conducted or approved by the Judicial Education Institute and are to be allowed, as far as possible, the time off the bench, or from their respective responsibilities without substantial inconvenience to the public for their attendance and participation in such programmes.
6. The Judicial Education Institute of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court shall be primarily responsible for planning, conducting and overseeing relevant and responsive judicial education programmes.
7. The Judicial Education Institute must recognize all judicial education programmes requiring the participation of judicial officers of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
8. The faculty for judicial education programmes shall consist primarily of persons who are competent in specific areas of expertise or specialization.
9. A proportion of the annual budget of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court must be specifically allocated to judicial education.
10. Education programmes must be organized and conducted for all justice sector personnel.
11. The Judicial Education Institute shall disseminate information on judicial education programmes conducted by persons within the Court system and to the stakeholders, including the Executive, the Bar Association and the public.

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