the judicial secretary profession in latin america. towards court administration
TRANSCRIPT
Latin America
Problems in the judiciary
The judicial secretary origin and evolution
Judicial reform trends
The judiciary as a system
The path towards court administration
Perspectives
Common cultural and historical heritage Spanish and Portuguese monarchies Vertical conception of power
Political system Three tiers of public power Understanding of the separation of powers
Similar institutions and political dynamics Governance Increasing institutional stability
Different levels of judicial independence Judicial career
Bureaucratic and cumbersome proceedings
Outdated (often artisanal) working methods
Poor personnel policy and absence of incentive schemes
Lack of a training policy
Absence of new court models
Inadequate infrastructure
Poor processing and use of statistical information
The role of lawyers is often distorting
Theoretical and abstract legal education
Confusion between judicial and administrative activities
Judicial Office (Italy): distinction between Judicial activity, in charge of the judge Administrative activity that supports the former, in
charge of the secretary, “administration of the administration of justice”(Constitutional Tribunal of Spain, 56/90 judgement)
Secretariat Physical space in which the materializing work of
judicial activity is performed under the direction of the secretary
Courts, prosecutors and public defenders offices
Spain They were lawyers / public notaries They collected fees for their activity
Dependent on the Ministry of Justice
Germany Rechstpfleger
Latin America Inherited position from the Spanish judicial organization
Appointed after a selection process
Activities during judicial proceedings
Legal certification of acts and documents – “public faith” Legal control of judges acts and rulings
Issuance of interlocutory decisions endorsed by the judge
Own Statute
Appointment of reputable jurists
Possible appointment to judgeship after 10 years of service
Dependent on the Ministry of Justice / Claim of transfer by the General Council of the Judicial Power (White Book “Libro Blanco”)
Ongoing debate about its role
Typical judicial unit Court, prosecutors and public defenders offices
Different number of secretariats depending on Jurisdiction Workload
Deficit in the number of judges
Distance between regulations and practice
“Imported” from Spain, but with institutional differences
High technical qualification
Functions Legal Statute Control of judicial acts Validity of documents Legal certification of acts and documents – “public faith” Legal control of judicial acts and rulings Issuance of preparatory measures Administrative activities Procedural control of legality and veracity
Real practice Delegate judge Responsible of the secretariat functioning Strong delegation by the judge
Dissemination
Dialogue and consensus building
Operation manuals designing
Pilot experiences
Continuous training of actors
Training of trainers
Adjustment and multiplication of best practices
Improvements based on existing court models
Gradual designing of new court models
Tension: Judges cultural reluctance to court administrators
TODAY
Design of new court models
based on the separation between
judicial and administrative activity
A NEW PARADIGM
The Judiciary as a System
Access to Justice: Diversity of pathways
Training: Continuing education
Management: Organization of the work, case management, leadership, teamwork and use of ICT
Administration: General operation of the system, judiciary, optimal use of resources, governance and strategic planning
Infrastructure: Physical environment, material and technological inputs
Regulations: Rules of organization and operation
Consensus Building: Awareness raising, dissemination and dialogue
Cooperation: Constant interaction
THE JUDICIARY AS A SYSTEM
Access to Justice: Diversity of pathways
Training: Continuing education
Management Organization of the work, case management, leadership, teamwork and use of ICT
Administration: General operation of the system, judiciary, optimal use of resources, governance andstrategic planning
Infrastructure: Physical environment, material and technological inputs
Regulations: Rules of organization and operation
Consensus Building: Awareness raising, dissemination and dialogue
Cooperation: Constant interaction
ANDThe Judge in the Traditional Model
THE JUDICIARY AS A SYSTEM
Access to Justice: Diversity of pathways
Training: Continuing education
Management Organization of the work, case management, leadership, teamwork and use of ICT
Administration: General operation of the system, judiciary, optimal use of resources, governance and strategic planning
Infrastructure: Physical environment, material and technological inputs
Regulations: Rules of organization and operation
Consensus Building: Awareness raising, dissemination and dialogue
Cooperation: Constant interaction
ANDThe Court Administrator
THE JUDICIARY AS A SYSTEM
New Criminal Procedure
Separation between judicial and administrative activities
New courts, public prosecutors office and defenders
Professionalized administrative support
Transparency
Coordination and institutional commitment
Permanent monitoring
Periodic evaluation
Mega Offices
Unification or merger of judicial offices devoted to the same matters
Division of other offices aimed to specialization Unification of proceedings and concentration of cases of
the same matter Increased ways of access to judicial information
Procedural judge Administrator of the office Common offices
Administration of the circuit Notifications Reception of documents Record keeping Internal mail
Associated Judicial Management Model, Mendoza
It has been implemented with the goals of: Freeing the judges of administrative compliance and
functional tasks Optimizing judicial performance and accelerating the
processing time and disposition of cases
The Court Administrator position was created under the dependence of the state Supreme Court It coordinates the processing of cases of four former
civil, commercial and mining courts (plus 2 judges appointed afterwards)
Public Prosecutor´s Office, City of Buenos Aires
New Design
1. Early Intervention Unit –UIT-: it takes action at the beginning of each case, evaluates and decides according to its characteristics
2. Common Processing Unit -UTC-: it acts in coordination with UIT and prosecutors teams
It centralizes and streamlines the tasks of research support
It is in charge of a Prosecutors office administrator
3. Prosecutors Teams: six prosecutors teams that are competent on criminal and misdemeanor offenses They conduct the investigations being freed from
administrative tasks and bureaucratic procedures
Integrated Judicial Center, Soyapango
Physical integration of courts in a geographic area
Administrative integration: operation of common specialized branches responsible for the administrative and legal work of the courts Focus on strictly legal-judicial activities, seeking
specialization of civil servants and greater agility, process quality and resolutions
Administrative-legal work assigned to specialized offices
Design, development and implementation of a system for processing information
Staff training
Growing importance of management and court administration
Increasing proactivity of the members of the judiciary
Towards court administration Appointment of secretaries Interdisciplinary approach for the design of new
court models
Consensus building and interaction with civil society
Public policies for all the judicial system
PERSPECTIVES
