Training project in Zambia

The Access to Justice Programme (AtoJ), which is currently funded by Danida, is a priority area for the Government of Zambia, and contributes towards establishing, inter alia, access to justice for the people of Zambia by helping to improve the key sector institutions, policies and practices. As a start, the AtoJ has focused its efforts and resources on key criminal justice institutions, including the Judiciary, by providing support for a number of initiatives such as records management, training and backlog management.

The British Department for International Development (DFID) expressed interest in funding other aspects of the Judiciary, including an initiative to improve performance in relation to the processing of complex corruption (CC) and serious economic crime (SEC) cases, using the framework of the AtoJ.  The concern that the Judiciary was underperforming compared to the defence and prosecution who benefit from the services of highly paid, qualified and motivated top private practice lawyers in these cases, thus resulting in either long delays and/or unacceptable judgements, led to the need for the project described below.

Representatives of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) were approached earlier in 2009 to participate, together with other identified experts, in a process which would expose the magnitude of the problem, its causes and effects and identify any interventions as part of a targeted approach and action plan to alleviate the problem in relation to the processing of SEC and CC cases.

Other experts in the field who were invited to participate in the project included Charles Monteith, Senior Policy Advisor for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in London, and Professor Jean Spreutels – University of Brussels, and judge of the High Court.

The assignment ultimately took the form of two judiciary working sessions which were held at the Chaminuka Lodge outside Lusaka during the period 10 – 19 August 2009, the first session involving Judges of the High Court of Zambia and the second professional Magistrates.  The sessions also included representatives of the judicial management.  The assignment commenced with separate seminars for High Court Judges and Magistrates to expose the Judiciary to best practices from other countries.  The ultimate purpose was the preparation of a proposal for a project to implement targeted interventions, structures and mechanisms for improved performance of the Judiciary in processing CC and SEC cases, and to agree ways and means of improving general court management and performance.

Members of the Judiciary were welcomed to the respective workshops by the Chief Justice, His Lordship the Hon. Chief Justice E. L Sakala, followed by a presentation by the Deputy Chief Justice, Her Lady the Hon. Deputy Chief Justice I. C Mambilima.

As part of a successfully facilitated process, the judges and magistrates identified key stakeholders, and separately identified what they perceived to be the core problems affecting their performance.  The working groups thereafter designed the objectives required to remove the cause of the identified core problems, and, in particular, to specify immediate results and solutions.  The objectives of the working sessions were defined in a three-level hierarchy, namely the goal, purpose and results identified by the working sessions, which, in turn, led to a determination of the action steps required to achieve the results.