Jordan Times
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Conference to tackle
extent of judicial reform in MENA countries
The good governance initiative supports ongoing reform processes by
creating a regional network for results-oriented policy dialogue between Arab
and OECD member countries
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — More than 100 legal experts from 13 Arab countries and representatives
of donor countries and organisations will meet here today for a two-day
conference on judicial reform in the region.
The gathering is part of a series of follow-up activities set by a conference on
Good Governance for Development in the Arab world held at the Dead Sea in
February this year, Minister of Justice Abed Shakhanbeh said at a press
conference on Tuesday.
The good governance initiative is supported by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the governments of France and the United States, among
others.
During the Dead Sea conference, participants set the Jordanian experiment in
judicial reform as a model for this aspect of good governance.
“Jordan is the first Arab country that has been able to draw up a comprehensive
programme to modernise its judicial apparatus,” according to Waseem Harb, the
Lebanon-based representative of UNDP.
“International organisations look at Jordan's judicial reform efforts as a
success story and that is why we are working on facilitating access to this
experiment for all other Arab countries,” he said.
Jordan's 11-point 2002-2006 judicial reform plan seeks to enhance the efficiency
of the court system and strengthen judicial independence, among other
objectives.
So far, Shakhanbeh said, the plan has been a success and has seen the
appointment and training of hundreds of judges and court clerks, in addition to
the building of new and modern court compounds throughout the Kingdom, the
establishment of an integrated information system network, and a process to
ensure transparency and accountability.
In Jordan, judicial reform is viewed as a prerequisite to any other type of
reform, the minister said.
Today's First Regional Conference for Partners in Judiciary Development is
expected to attract the participation of five Arab justice ministers and senior
judicial leaders from the 13 Arab partners of the good governance initiative.
Jurists and officials will review progress in judicial reform in the countries
involved in the initiative.
They are due to formulate recommendations on the activities and achievements
planned for the first phase of the judicial reform plan, which will end early
2006.
The Good Governance for Development (GfD) in Arab Countries Initiative aims at
modernising government structures and processes in the MENA region.
It supports ongoing reform processes by creating a regional network for
results-oriented policy dialogue between Arab and Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, and by strengthening Arab
countries' capacity to design and implement policy reforms, according to OECD
web sources.
The GfD initiative was formally launched on Feb. 6-7, 2005 at the Dead Sea
inaugural conference, which was held under the patronage of His Majesty King
Abdullah.
By the end of this conference, participants had agreed to set up six regional
working groups focusing on areas related to good governance.