Tools and support

Ngdingemelel a Ititong a mult a dechel. From the taro shoots at Ititong, a new garden was planted. — Palauan

Small favours can multiply, so great results might emerge from modest beginnings.

Resources and publications

  • Develop a new website. Funded and project managed by the NZ Ministry of Justice, a new website that better aligns with the PJSP approach and improves the experience of users will be developed.
  • Bench Books. Bench books are jurisdiction-specific resources that provide an overview of legislation, case law, customary law, and guidance for judicial officers. Use of these resources help to ensure that judicial officers have the knowledge and confidence to perform their roles well and enhances consistency in decision-making.  These are published online which provides transparency into court processes. Partners are supported to regularly review content.
  • Youth justice resources. PJSP will produce resources on youth justice, to be launched at the regional youth justice webinar. PJSP will seek and publish existing resources from around the region on its website.
  • Family protection laws: Implementation and best practice. The regional report Regional Family Protection Laws: Implementation and best practices provides foundational family protection law research and will be published after updates early in the next period. It highlights features of family protection laws in Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The paper analyses reporting requirements and implementation challenges across the Pacific, showcasing best practices and providing recommended actions.
  • Strengthening justice pathways. The regional report Strengthening justice pathways discusses linkage and pathways between state and community-based justice systems (with an internal version detailing goal 3 of the PJSP Access to Justice Strategy). This involves exploring existing models of ‘community-based connectors’ and recommends focusing on developing Community Legal Advocates and paralegals. This output informs the pilot plans for community legal advocates developed with input from public lawyer services in Vanuatu, Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands and Tonga.
  • Court performance management handbook.  The handbook, which will be launched at the regional Court performance management and annual reporting webinar, sets out the knowledge and practical tools to support integrating court performance management into the regular operations of courts.
  • Standard operating procedures.  These reference resources for registry staff support quality and consistency in processing cases as they move through the judicial system. A valuable resource for induction and training. PJSP will work with two partner countries to develop jurisdiction-specific standard operating procedures.
  • Support on court performance, efficiency and transparency
  • Case management systems: Implementation, enhancement, training and support.  PJSP will implement a new case tracking system (CTS) and provide support and training to the judiciary and court staff in Kiribati. Intensive support and training will be provided in Samoa (which has a new CTS) and Tonga (which has a new case management system). The existing CTS in Nauru will be upgraded and support and training provided to the judiciary and court staff.  Enhancements will be rolled out to other countries with a CTS.
  • XLS support. PJSP offers support for those working with excel spreadsheets to capture and share data.  It’s complex and difficult to master unless you are doing the work all the time. Through the provision of technical advice and support, PJSP grows localised understanding and capability.
  • Ongoing court performance management and reporting support. PJSP offers support to improve courts’ access to reliable and timely information, including managing data, analysing data and reporting (both in annual and other reports). Monthly dashboards and performance reports are produced for all partner countries that have the ability to share reliable data. At present support is provided to: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Pohnpei Supreme Court, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Nauru will receive this support once they have received enhancements and training and Samoa when they are ready. Support designing and analysing court user surveys is offered.  PJSP periodically provides trend reports, assessing the ability of courts to capture data and report on various performance indicators (“the Cook Islands indicators”, established by Chief Justices in 2011).
  • Support with case time goals. PJSP offers support to establish and review case time goals. These are useful tools to ensure specific cases are progressed in a timely manner, in particular cases involving pre-trial detention, children and young people, and protection of victims of violence.
  • Annual reporting support. PJSP offers support to develop accurate and comprehensive annual reports.

Pilot wellbeing programme

With wellbeing being identified as a key priority at the 2023 Chief Justices’ Leadership Forum, a wellbeing programme will be developed and piloted with one country (likely the Republic of Marshall Islands). An assessment process or strategy will inform this. Following the wellbeing webinar in March 2023, the possibility of establishing a “wellbeing profile” will be considered. This involves using anonymous polling, approved by organisational wellness and clinician expertise in the judicial context. A country-specific wellbeing profile is designed to assist the Chief Justice by providing a roadmap for targeted wellbeing measures and initiates, which can be supported by PJSP. Gaining specific insights into key stressors through an objective and measurable approach allows leadership to make decisions based on the fuller picture of the current wellbeing make up and measure progress – as a judiciary overall, within roles and across other key markers.

Coroners support

PJSP facilitates the provision of guidance and support on coronial systems through the NZ Chief Coroner, on request. Coroners will be supporting Cook Islands and Niue.

Strengthening the reach of courts

  • Support with remote court proceedings. PJSP offers support for remote court proceedings, which can increase the reach of court services, including through use of lower cost accessible technologies (like telephones), and can provide vulnerable groups with a higher sense of physical and psychological safety than attendance at court. Remote application processes for urgent family protection cases are already provided in many countries’ family protection laws.
  • Support on mobile court services. PJSP will work with Vanuatu and Kiribati to support mobile court services. With justice services highly centralised, mobile courts offer a village-level service and strengthen the presence of formal justice in highly remote areas. These improve the chance of family and sexual violence cases being transferred from local justice to state justice processes.
  • Community outreach strategy and implementation. A lack of legal awareness to navigate within and between state and community justice processes means vulnerable groups in particular are unable to access the protections and remedies available. Providing accessible, targeted legal information on navigating justice pathways at the most localised level possible, is key for expanding access to justice in plural legal environments across the Pacific. PJSP will assess existing court information and engagement regarding the most effective forms of communication and identify best practice approaches (for two countries). This will underpin implementation of a court information strategy, including tailored approaches for engaging key community leaders and service providers, and women and children.
  • Support expanded legal assistance services for women and children. Research focused on available and potential sources of legal assistance for family violence and family-related cases will be undertaken with the assistance of community providers that support women and children. This assessment will inform tailored support to increase legal awareness and expand access to legal assistance for women and children in Tonga.

Research and review

  • Assess capacities and oversight of lower courts to meet needs of women and children. Lower courts are often presided over by lay judicial officers, and the jurisdiction of these courts often include both law and custom. While systems of appeal provide an important oversight mechanism of lower court decisions, appeal processes are not always accessible. Investing in building the human rights capacities of these courts, with additional and strengthened internal oversight systems, can help to ensure the quality and consistency of rights protection is provided for women and children. This also involves increasing the availability and capacity of court circuits outside of urban centres, increasing practical access to court services for those in rural areas and those facing barriers relating to geography or transport.
  • Review case tracking systems. PJSP will review the CTS that partner countries utilise and consider value for money, how it meets the needs of the courts and court leaders, proposed enhancements, and sustainability.
  • External mid-term review. PJSP will manage arrangements for an external mid-term review of the PJSP. This will inform the remainder of the programme.

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