The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies [ACHRS] in cooperation with the Jordanian Judicial Institute has held a seminar on the procedures of litigation and ways of activating them. The president of the Jordanian Judicial Institute, Judge Mansour El Hadidi, welcomed the 25 male and female judges and participants in the seminar
In his welcoming remarks, Judge El Hadidi said that that the aim of the seminar is to identify the obstacles, if there were any, and ways of averting them, and to discuss the procedures of litigation, particularly the reasons for the slow process of litigation and how to overcome it. He added that the seminar will also try to determine the role of the partners in the judicial process in this connection, namely, the judge, the lawyer, the citizen and the legislator.
Judge El Hadidi explained that holding this seminar in cooperation with the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies [ACHRS] falls within the context of the implementation by the Jordanian Judicial Institute of one of the focuses of the strategy for the development of the judiciary which could be done by strengthening cooperation with the civil society organizations.
Addressing the seminar, the Director General of the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies [ACHRS], Dr. Nizam Assaf, paid tribute to the efforts that were made by the Jordanian Judicial Institute, describing it as one of the pioneering national institutions in the field of training and following up everything that is new, particularly in the field of human rights.
Dr. Assaf pointed out that the Jordanian Judicial Institute has introduced the subject of human rights to the training courses of the institute and has held numerous activities and events on human rights and fundamental liberties.
He said that this in fact, constituted a qualitative contribution by the institute and it was warmly welcomed by the civil society organizations, particularly those involved in human rights activities.
Dr. Assaf pointed out that the right of litigation and the right to complete and effective justice have become one of the most important human rights at the present time. The Jordanian judicial system has covered significant strides for the sake of shortening the long period of litigation, minimizing the slow procedures, and expediting the judicial process.
He said that the aim of all this was to guarantee that rights are given to their lawful owners and that the confidence of citizens in the Jordanian judiciary, which we are proud of, is strengthened. It is enough to mention in this regard the method of managing lawsuits and the method of mediation.
On the first session, Judge Muhammad al-Tarawneh spoke about the ways and means that are needed to upgrade the judicial procedures. He pointed out that slow justice is some kind of injustice and that complete and effective justice is one of the characteristics of the advanced societies, because it helps create an investment environment that attracts investors and that undoubtedly gives momentum to the wheel of the economy.
He added that needless to say; before they start any investment, many investors inquire about the judicial procedures in force at a certain country. Complete and effective justice raises the level of satisfaction and contentment in the targeted groups, namely, the masses; because it makes them feel that the judicial system is the last resort to resolve any dispute which may break out.
Dr El Tarawneh said that in order to achieve this goal, we need abundant funds and efforts and the upgrading of the judicial procedures, including the alleviation of the state of judicial congestion. We should also keep pace with modernism and the contemporary world as both have become indispensable and we should keep pace with them so as to restore rights to their lawful owners in the shortest and easiest ways.
The judge in charge of managing the civil lawsuits, Judge Waleed Kanakriyah, spoke in the second session about the management of the lawsuits. He said that the goal of the management is to minimize the administrative and judicial procedures which used to delay the court decisions on lawsuits.
He pointed out that among the procedures followed in the management of the lawsuits were the fixing of specific dates for each procedure of the lawsuit, control of the subsequent procedures, and scheduling the subsequent procedures within the context of speed, necessity, and the expectation of completing the procedures in the specific period of time.
Judge Kanakriyah quoted statistics that the management of the lawsuits has succeeded in minimizing time and effort and led to speedy court decisions on the lawsuits.
Addressing the third session was Judge Suhair El Tubasi, director of the Mediation Department. She said that mediation was a modern technique used as an alternative for the purpose of conflict resolution. She said that mediation was one of the techniques of the judicial solutions which were specified by law, and that it saved time, effort, money and provided secrecy for the litigants because it used the method of quiet and conscientious dialogue.
Attorney Zuha’ El Majali, the Legal Advisor of the ACHRS, submitted a working paper on the role of the legal profession in activating the judicial procedures. He pointed out that the lawyer has a great role to play in achieving justice because he is the second face of justice and because he can offer legal counsel and represent the litigants at court so as to achieve the principle of balance, equality, and defense of litigants for the sake of serving justice and humanity.
He pointed out that one of the most important duties entrusted to the lawyer for the activation of the judicial procedures is to seriously and truthfully interact with the decisions of the court and the public prosecution.
He explained that this was necessary for facilitating justice and simplifying the procedures by compliance with the periods of time fixed by the judge and by participation with the judicial institution in working to apply the procedural legal provisions, to submit petitions, lawsuits, clear and proper legal defense free from any ambiguity or evasion for the purpose facilitating the judicial procedures.
El Mjali said that it was the duty of the Jordanian Bar Association to consolidate and deepen the provisions of the law on the practice of the legal profession, whether on matters related to the profession or to the Jordanian Bar Association as a sacred professional beacon.
