About the programme
Civil justice is increasingly recognised as a major public service – as important in its own way as other services like health and education, and requiring a very large investment of public money. Yet the administration of justice is distinctive, not least because of the sensitivities surrounding judicial independence.
How can judicial independence be reconciled with the need for public accountability and for the monitoring of efficiency?  Should litigants be treated – as they are, increasingly, in the UK – as ‘customers’, whose needs and expectations should be given priority over the convenience of courts and lawyers?  British judges have, in recent years, been given more responsibility for case-management; has this proved to be a positive development?  Should litigants have unlimited rights of appeal?  How can efficiency be enhanced by the effective use of information technology?  How can access to justice be improved, particularly for people of limited financial means when only limited public funding is available – particularly at a time when public expenditure is being severely cut back?
Although the emphasis will be on civil justice, the programme will also consider relevant aspects of criminal justice, such as the funding of criminal legal aid and the relationships between civil and criminal courts.
Who is it for?
This one-week programme is designed mainly for lawyers, judges, legal administrators and representatives from non-government organisations and funding agencies with an interest in the judicial sector.  It will draw substantially upon recent and continuing developments in England and Wales and will also encourage you to share ideas and experiences with participants from other jurisdictions.
How participants will benefit
The study programme will:

• Introduce you to the justice system of England and Wales
• Familiarise you with recent and current initiatives to modernise the management and delivery of civil justice – such as the reports by Lord Woolf in the 1990s, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
• Enable you to understand the financial and other obstacles to access to the justice system
• Identify aspects of UK experience which can be applied in other countries and aspects of overseas experience from which the UK system might benefit
• Help you to identify practical ways of initiating relevant and sustainable change to enhance access to justice on return to your own country.

 
Please view our 2018 Brochure (opens in a PDF document)
 
“I really enjoyed going to the county court and having a personal meeting with the judges.”
Monica Vergara          
Magistrate(s) of 19^th Civil Tribunal, the Administrative Corporation of the Judicial Power, Chile