Max Planck Foundation experts delivered workshops to build the capacity of court clerks and administrative staff of the courts in Zarqa and Balqa, Jordan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Jordan, the Judicial Council in Jordan, and the First Instance Courts of Zarqa and Balqa
The Foundation conducted two workshops on 4 – 5 October 2021 in Balqa and Zarqa respectively. The workshops was formally inaugurated by HE Judge Hazem Mohammed Saeed, President of the Courts of First Instance of Zarqa, Hassan Alimat, Head of the Administration of the Zarqa Courts and the Head of Project at the Max Planck Foundation.
The workshop focused on the training of administrative staff of the First Instance Courts so that their administrative and support roles to Judges of the Courts, and to court users, comply with principles of best practice for access to justice for vulnerable groups. The training also focused on the process of legal aid for vulnerable court users in Jordan in compliance with the constitution and Jordan’s international law obligations. Specific topics included means of identification of different categories of vulnerable groups, access to justice for (IDPs, migrants and refugees), and the role of administrative staff of the court in improving access to information and procedures for vulnerable groups when interacting with the justice sector. The workshops helped to introduce court staff to the domestic and international legal frameworks governing access to justice for vulnerable groups and to best practices in the context of Jordanian laws and the daily challenges faced in courts by court staff. Practical and moot exercises were conducted to raise awareness of the provision of legal aid and the relevant domestic legal provisions to gauge the extent of compliance with international standards.
The exercises strengthened participants’ understanding of the concepts discussed and their practical application, as well as highlighting gaps in internal policies and procedural regulations that could be further enhanced.
The workshop is a part of the project component to build the capacity of administrative staff and court clerks of the Courts in Balqa and Zarqa Governorates in Jordan, within the scope of the Foundation’s project Strengthening Legislative Compliance and Constitutional Interpretation in Jordan: for Judges of the Ordinary Courts, the Constitutional Court and the Bureau of Legislation and Opinion, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.