www.cejamericas.org

San José, Costa Rica:
Thirty-One Papers Presented at IX International Seminar on Judicial Management

The presentations are available online at www.cejamericas.org

The IX International Seminar on Judicial Management “Perspectives for Improving Justice: Judicial Offices, ICTs, and Ties to the Community” was held December 7 and 9 in San José, Costa Rica. The event was attended by over one hundred people representing 15 countries.

The seminar, which was organized by the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) and the Supreme Court of Costa Rica, featured the participation of high-ranking representatives of judicial branches from throughout the Americas; legislators; members of court administrative units, prosecutor’s offices, and public defender’s offices; the directors of executing units; management consultants; and officials from international cooperation agencies.

Renowned experts discussed current challenges of the operation of the judicial system from the perspectives of judicial office management, the incorporation of new technologies, and the development of ties to the community. Emphasis was placed on the analysis of the experiences with and lessons learned from the design, implementation, and operation of management models in Latin America.

On the first day of the event, simultaneous panel discussions were held on judicial offices in various areas in Costa Rica, the experiences of judicial debt recovery efforts in civil courts, labor courts in Cartago, agrarian courts, and the child support court in Alajuela. Speakers also presented office management experiences from the Costa Rica Public Prosecutor’s Office in the areas of disciplinary measures and certification.

During the afternoon, a discussion was held on the use and impact of ICTs as a means of providing greater access to various judicial services. It was led by Ricardo Lillo, Management Area Coordinator for JSCA, and featured comments by Rafael Ramírez, Director of the IT Section of the Judicial Branch of Costa Rica, and José Alberto Ramírez of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The panel members presented the methodology and basic findings of JSCA’s Index of Online Judicial Services, the results of which will be published during the first semester of 2012.

On the second day of the event, simultaneous panels were held during which 15 management experiences selected through a regional competition were presented. Their focus was specific innovations in the field that have been applied in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru.