Transcript Information for the conduction of Judicial Cases Standards

Information for the conduction of Judicial
Cases
Standards of Performance and indicators
Dr. Ramón G. Brenna
[email protected]
[email protected]
Peter Drucker:
If you want to get something,
measure it
 If you cannot measure it, forget
it
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Things we lack
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We lack a base line with which can compare,
not only the deviations from an “ideal” situation
or a “good performance”, but also the advances
or results of the changes that one decides to
introduce, in different situations in front of
which, intuitively, we have the sensation that
they are unsatisfactory or dysfunctional.
We forget about the processes
of judicial reform
Reliable information systems
 Systematic evaluation
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Judicial Statistics
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They constitute an important part of the
information system and are a central tool for
the identification of the strengths and
weaknesses of the systems, to design reforms
and take action, follow the operations, better
management and in general, for decision
making of all the actors in the justice world,
specially including the citizens. (CEJAManual)
Questions
How to compare the results of
the changes?
 How to develop judicial
policies?
 Who needs the information?
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Information for the Judge
For a good administration of the court and its
cases, the judge has to have access and
availability to certain information about how his
court is working. This implicates not only that
he possesses this information, but also that he
develops a continuing monitoring of the
situation of the court.
– There are different levels for monitoring an
adequate management of the cases.
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The first one is the one of the basic
information.
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There, as we already seen, it’s necessary to be
able to respond to some questions.
How many cases are filed each year? How
many are pending? How many are pending in
every court? From when are they pending?
Which is the procedural situation of every case?
What was the last thing that happened in them
and when? Which should be the next
procedure? Is it programmed?
How many cases have finalized?
How many in each court?
 In what ways did the cases finish?
How many with a conciliation? How
many with a withdrawal of the
plaintiff? How many with a reject of
the plaintiff?
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To get these answers you need at least some data that
has to be assessed daily, and the desirable thing would
be that the computer system would automatically give us
most of the information.
Classification by type of expedient, type of process and
tendencies.
Expedients pending in each court.
Tasks pending on every expedient.
Date of last activity and details of it.
Verdicts or any other form of termination of the process
and its comparative time.
The second level aims to an efficient
functioning.
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In this case information from the historic
evolution of the trials and its duration and the
establishment of standards of duration for each
kind of trial and each subject.
We have to start from the establishment of the
standards of duration that are considered
acceptable and do the measurement by
relevant procedural stages of each trial.
These criteria or standards and the
objectives must be defined and adopted:
For all the Judicial system
 For parts of the system
 For particular cases.
 Shows of cases and standards
of specific times.
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Time Standards help because:
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They promote an expedite justice.
They offer motivation for achieving goals of
time.
The are a pattern to measure the effectiveness
of the administration, of the programs and the
individuals.
They promote the utilization of information
systems to monitor the expedients and get
data regarding the performance of the courts.
The monitoring and information systems
presuppose the utilization of statistics and
briefs as tools.
Necessary data in order to
answer these questions
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Showing of management information in a register. How
to use the information.
Exhibition of the data, briefs, charts and graphics and it’s
daily availability if it’s possible in the computer system.
Avoid giving the typical information about the judicial
system problems.
Analyze the information and having total knowledge of
what’s going on in the court in all times.
Well-done briefs should let the judge have complete
conscience of what’s happening in the court and in all
the cases.
Identify “lost” cases and the reasons of why that
happens.
See if programmed and developed activities
and the time between them comply with the
standards and the objectives.
 Monitor the verdicts or the ending of the cases,
the old cases and percentage of trials and
compare again with the expected standards.
 Identify the problems in order to take any kind
of action. Are the cases delayed? What
motivates that particular problem?
All that we discussed should lead to a better and
more efficient management, which is the third level.
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The questions here are:
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How does the information compares with the
judges perception about the system?
What are the tendencies in the short and
medium ranges? According to the generated
information, what problems can be anticipated?
What actions could be adopted in order to
avoid future problems?
What are the weaknesses and the strengths of
the system? What could be done to improve it?
Which cases are becoming “old” and don’t
reach the standards?
Standards and Criteria
Judicial Power
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Independent
Impartial
Competent
Accessible
Efficient
Free of delays
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Effective
Quality
oriented
Predictable
Equity
Responsible
Transparent
Standards
.Access to the Judicial System
 .Quick procedures
 .Equity, impartiality and congruence
 .Independence
 .Public Trust
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Access to the judicial system
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Public Procedures. Judicial Processes must be open to public
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Security, easy access and comfort. Courts facilities must be secure, accessible,
and adequate for its objectives.
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Effective participation. Every person that has to appear before the courts must
have the opportunity of completely exercise his/her rights without unfair
limitations.
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Courtesy, sensibility and respect. Magistrates and judicial employees must be
correct and considerate in their treatment with the general public and preserve
the respect that anyone who appears at the courts deserves.
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Affordable costs. The access to judicial procedures and the registers measured
in economic procedural, and time frames must be reasonable, fair and
accessible to the general public.
Procedural Celerity
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Managing Judicial cases. Courts must comply with
the steps contained by the respective procedural
codes in cases and keep updated of new cases that
they receive in order to begin in an expedite way.
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Comply with the time, deadlines and timetables.
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Application of laws and procedures. Courts must
apply changes introduced to laws and regulations in
an effective way.
Equality, impartiality and
congruence
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Fair Trial. Courts must observe with fidelity and without exception laws and
regulations related to procedures.
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Resolutions. Courts must adequately care about relevant circumstances of each
particular case but in the resolutions adopted, they must maintain as much
coherence as they can with the ones taken before in similar conflicts.
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Clarity. Courts must clearly decide every legitimate procedural pretension that is
exposed and also establish, in a concrete way, how to comply with the taken
resolution.
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Responsibility for the execution. Courts must take the execution of their
decisions as their own responsibility
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Security of the registers. Security measures to keep secure the files of all the
important decisions of the court must be taken.
Independence and
Responsibility:
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Respect for the independence. Courts must maintain
their Institutional Purpose and show this in the
relationship with other branches of the government.
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Responsibility: Responsibility in the Public Resources
Management. Although attributions of the Judicial
Powers in the fixation of their own budget is limited,
they should assume the responsibility of receiving the
assigned budget and distribute it with efficiency,
holding accountable for their management
Public Trust
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Accessibility. Courts and Justice provision, must be
perceived as accessible by the public.
Celerity, Impartiality and Trust. The Public must have
confidence that the Courts are being managed with
the celerity that the regulations and the specific
circumstances permit and that their decisions will be
impartial and fair.
Independence and Judicial Responsibility. The
community must perceive courts as independent and
free of any excessive influence of other institutions of
the government and responsible for their acts.
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Measure of the variables
Data. Are the values that one variable
adopts in a specific moment
 Information. Are the relevant data that
are useful for decision-making.
 Indicators. Sign, Value, Index,
information that defines the existence,
change or progress of a specific
situation.
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Board of Commands
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It’s an instrument that:
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Gathers in a synthetic, organized and
systematic way, the relevant information about
the management of an organization..
It’s composed by indicators, which periodic
follow, will allow having a higher awareness of
the situation in the organization or sectoring,
and the achievement, deviance or nonfulfillment of the expected objectives.
It contrasts between standards and preestablished objectives.
It’s generally under a computer system.
Its basic functions consist in:
Adequate Diagnosis of a situation
 Align the Organization according to
pre-established goals and
objectives
 Constitute a device or alarm and
evaluation.
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Types of Boards of Commands
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Operative. Allows the daily follow up.
Directive. Allows the monitoring of the
results of the organization and its key
areas.
Strategic. Provides internal and external
information, necessary to foresee the
future and diminish surprises.
Integral. Has everything that the other
types have and is utilized for high
direction.
Some Types of indicators
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Of Cause. It’s preventive. Allows anticipating.
Of effect. Evaluates the obtained results.
Of efficacy. Measures the achievement of the
objectives.
Of efficiency. Evaluates the economy in the use
of resources in order to achieve the expected
objective.
Of satisfaction. It measures qualitative opinion
that a service or product deserves in the
receptor’s or beneficiary’s view.
Measures of the indicators.
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They can be measured:
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Binaurally: For yes or for no: Control by exception
(absenteeism-complaints)
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By percentages or levels: Comparing to a pre-established limits
(number of absences v. total of worked days)
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By performance: Measures actions done in a unit of time
(number of resolutions per day)
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By temperature: Measures the organizational climate.
(Satisfaction surveys, suggestions)
Measurements
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Is there a relationship between the number of
cases that begin and the number of cases that
end?
What Courts of the jurisdiction have an acute
dilatory problem?
How much time elapses between each phase of
the trial?
What is the percentage of cases ended with
conciliation?
Indicators:
Litigious information:
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Cases entered every /100.000 habitants
Cases entered for every judge.
Rate of growth
Amount of work for every judge
Amount of work on every area
Percentage of judicial decision not appealed.
Rate of congestion (filed cases + pending
cases / resolved cases)
Rate of appeals
Distribution of the filed cases by area
Productivity:
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Number of cases solved by every judge
Division by complexity
Sentences
Sentences by complexity
Rates of sentences
Rates of cases ended by conciliation or other
anticipated ending methods.
Percentage of sentences appealed.
Percentage of solved issues without sentence.
Duration and Dilation.
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Time of waiting.
Pending cases by area or main procedures.
Rate of pending cases.
Rate of resolution.
Annual pending cases.
Duration (Beginning-End)
Distribution of duration in periods of
3,6,9,12,18,24 and more than 24 months.
Percentage of cases solved in periods of
3,6,9,12,18,24 and more than 24 months.
Quality.
Rate of Revocations
 Rate of Annulments
 Number of complaints from users
 Rate of Satisfaction for the
information
 Rate of Satisfaction for treatment
received
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