Mandate, Objectives, Standards
Mandate
- 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.
- To engender a high level of public awareness, about the judicial system. To act as a certifying body for training programmes.
Objectives
- To identify the educational needs of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, including skills training, professional development and personal growth.
- 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.
- To improve and enhance the administration of justice through ongoing training, including the efficient management of court processes and delay reduction.
- To promote the professional and personal development of all justice sector personnel to the highest standards.
- To maintain an inventory of, and disseminate to the judiciary, information about programmes throughout the ECSC that are related to judicial education.
- To develop and assist courts and cooperating agencies in the development of programmes to meet the needs of the judiciary.
- To keep the ECSC judiciary informed about new legislation and other relevant developments; and to develop programmes to achieve these ends.
- To provide technical and organizational assistance to the courts and other agencies in the delivery of their services.
- To provide certification for education/training activities of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
- To provide certification for education/training activities of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
- 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.
- To explore avenues for distance education.
- To establish linkages with organizations that share similar goals.
Standards
- 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.
- Judicial support staff in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court system should spend a minimum of 40 hours per calendar year attending judicial education programmes.
- All newly appointed justice sector personnel must undergo an Orientation Programme approved by the JEI upon/shortly after commencement of assignment/duties.
- All newly appointed justice sector personnel should receive a refresher course or follow up course approximately one year after commencement of judicial duties.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Judicial Education Institute must recognize all judicial education programmes requiring the participation of judicial officers of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
- The faculty for judicial education programmes shall consist primarily of persons who are competent in specific areas of expertise or specialization.
- A proportion of the annual budget of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court must be specifically allocated to judicial education.
- Education programmes must be organized and conducted for all justice sector personnel.
- 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.