2009/09/24

Serbian Judges' Study Visit to Canada

From May 24th to 29th 2009,  a delegation of  Serbian judges had the opportunity to meet with Canadian judges, a case management master, court administrators, counsel, a mediator, victim-witness workers, and other court personnel. They observed Canadian justice system practices, programs and approaches inside and outside of the courtrooms.

The overall goal of the study visit was for the delegates to learn how the Canadian justice system functions and more specifically, observe how the courts and parties make use of mediation. Mediation is an alternative to the adversarial form of dispute resolution used for centuries to settle disputes. Mediation is not a trial, arbitration or adjudication, in which a court, person or board formally determines the rights and obligations of parties and imposes a decision on them. Mediators are neutral third parties who facilitate settlement discussions in an informal setting, to help seek constructive and mutually acceptable solutions to conflicts.

The Mandatory Mediation Program in place in the Ottawa Courthouse has proven to be enormously effective in leading to the successful resolution of cases before they reach trial and has become an integral part of how law suits are conducted in Ontario, with an estimated 95% of cases being settled before trial, according to Mr Andrejs Berzins former Chief Crown Attorney for Ottawa and advisor to the Canada-Serbia Judicial Reform Project.

The delegates were interested in becoming familiar with practices like mandatory mediation which could potentially be adapted to the Serbian context. Mediation is a mechanism which could help reduce delays in Serbian courts if it were used more widely. The Canada-Serbia Judicial Reform Project is implementing a number of activities in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Justice and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia in order to streamline case management in Serbian courts and reduce delays.

2009/09/14

Delegation of Serbian gender equality professionals visits Canada

2009/03/16

Supporting Gender Equality, for the Benefit of the Entire Society

2009/09/10

Judicial Reform Conference, 14-15 of September, 2009

2009/03/20

16 Days of Activism Against Domestic Violence

2008/10/10

Launch: Handbook for Public Prosecutors