INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA (IHRDA) GAMBIA LEGAL CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME (LCBP) Phase I A Programme of the Judiciary of The Gambia, funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) and managed by IHRDA List of workshops organised under LCBP I 2004-2007 Workshop Topics Addressed No. of Participants 1 Training Seminar for Judges and Magistrates 1. Land law, tenure and administration; 2. Undefended causes; 3. Interim application for relief (ex parte) (injunctions); 20 27-29 May 2004 4. Backlog of cases; 5.Interim proceedings against absconding defendants under Gambian law 2 Training Seminar for Police Prosecutors 1. The Police functions; 2. Prosecutions; 5-8 July 2004 3. Criminal processes and proceedings; 4. Criminal prosecutions; 30 5. Court processes; 3 Training Seminar for Presidents and Members of District Tribunals, Western Division 25-26 August 2004 4 Training Seminar for Scribes of District Tribunals 30-31 August 2004 5 Training Seminar for Magistrates 29-30 September 2004 6. Human rights issues in criminal processes 1. Applicable laws (the Constitution, District Tribunals Act, Criminal Code); 2. Criminal procedure; 3. Civil procedure; 4. Legal requirements (Judicial ethics and records management); 5. Fair trial in the human rights context 1. Applicable laws (the Constitution, District Tribunal Act, Criminal Code); 2. Recording Tribunal proceedings; 3. Managing and keeping District Tribunal records; 4. Role, duties and functions of District Tribunal scribes 1. Civil justice (jurisdiction, assessment of damages, principles of natural justice, interlocutory and ex parte procedures); 2. Criminal justice (jurisdiction, procedures, juvenile processes, punishment and sentencing); 48 12 10 1
6 Training Seminar for Chairperson and Members of the Banjul and Kanifing Industrial Tribunal 21-22 October 2004 7 Seminar for Judges and Senior Judicial Officers on the Introduction of the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism in The Gambia 25-28 November 2004 8 Training Workshop on the Criminal Justice Delivery System 20 21 December 2004 9 Drafting of a Code of Conduct for the Bench and the Bar 22-23 February 2005 10 Consultative seminar for cadis, assessors, panelists and scribes on Court systems 21-22 March 2005 3. Human rights; 4. Judicial ethics; 5. Judgment-writing; 6. Decision-making; 7. Administrative procedures; 8. Case and records management 1. Decision-making; 2. Judicial ethics and comportment; 3. Assessment and termination of employment contracts; 4. Redundancy, discrimination, employers liability, 5. Labour law, Labour Act and collective bargaining; 5. Judgment-writing and decision-making; 6. Jurisdiction and procedure; 7. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 1. Introduction to ADR; 2. Court-annex ADR; 3. Legal framework and role of judges; 4. Conflict analysis; 5. Negotiation; 6. Arbitration; 7. Transformative justice 1. Overview of the criminal justice system; 2. Criminal prosecution; 3. Presiding over criminal cases; 4. Defending a criminal case; 5. Right to a fair trial; 6. Extradition law and practice 1. Fundamental attributes of the Code of Ethics; 2. The conduct of a legal practitioner as a professional; 3. The relationship between the legal practitioner, his clients and other legal practitioners; 4. The relationship between the legal practitioner and the court; 5. The relationship between the legal practitioner and the public; 6. Fees; 7. The duty of the legal practitioner in criminal cases; 8. Consideration of the draft Code of Ethics for the Bench and the Bar 1. Laws applicable and Appeal Court processes; 2. Procedures for Cadis, Cadi Court Procedures; during and post-trials, cadis, assessors and scribes; 3.Judgments, orders; execution of judgements and jurisdiction; 8 14 27 70 23 2
11 Sensitisation Workshop for the Gambian Judiciary on the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism 29-30 March 2005 12 Record Sanitization Exercise 12-22 April 2005 13 Seminar on the Civil Justice System 27-28 April 2005 14 Seminar on Access to Justice as a Fundamental Right 13-14 May 2005 15 Dinner Conference on the Accession of more Gambians to the Higher Bench 21 May 2005 16 Workshop for Police Prosecutors: Ensuring an Effective Criminal Justice Delivery System 13-14 February 2006 4. Judicial ethics; 5. Court administrative procedures 1. Introduction to ADR; 2. Understanding ADR; 3. Introduction to the ADR Bill; 4. ADR experiences in other African countries; 5. ADR: Judicial functions and case management; 6. Role of legal practitioners; 7. Role of clients/disputants; 8. ADR in The Gambia The implementation of a filing system in order to facilitate case retrieval 1. Jurisdiction and judgment-writing; 2. Overview of ADR; 3. Judicial ethics for Tribunal members; 4. Land law application in District Tribunals; 5. Civil Procedures: Challenging areas for District Tribunal Chairpersons 1. Access to justice as a fundamental right; 2. The role of the judiciary in ensuring access to justice; 3. The powers of arrest, search, seizure and detention of the Gambia Police Force; 4. The role of the NIA regarding arrest, search, detention and national security issues; 5. Police powers of the Gambia National Guard in terms of the Gambia National Army (GNG Unit) Police Duties Regulation, Legal Notice 2000 ; 6. Access to justice in the prison context; 7. The role of the Immigration Department regarding arrest, search and deportation; 8. The role of the Gambia Press Union in ensuring access to justice 1. Security of tenure; 2. Incentives; 3. The Judges Act; 4. Remuneration; 5. Conducive work environment 1. The law on arraignment in The Gambia 2. Overview of the criminal justice system 3. Presiding over a criminal case 4. Prosecuting a criminal case 5. The law on torture in criminal prosecution 6. Challenges of police prosecutors in criminal prosecutions 7. Role of the investigative police officer 17 Workshop for State Lawyers of the 1. Ethics of the justice delivery system: A judge s perspective 62 33 23 73 55 3
Criminal Division at the Department of State for Justice 27-28 February 2006 2. Role of the general legal counsel in promoting ethical practice 3. Judicial collaboration in the justice delivery system 4. Role of witnesses in criminal prosecution 5. Role of investigations in criminal justice delivery 5. Pre-trial issues 6. Juvenile justice delivery system: Pre-trial process and challenges 18 13-14 March 2006 19 Seminar for Judges, Magistrates and Top Judicial Officers 6-8 April 2006 20 Seminar to Review, Update, Revise, and Validate Draft Records and Registry Procedures Manual for Courts of Law 28-30 April 2006 1.Judicial development agenda (Chief Justice) 2.Case management in Magistrate s Court 3.Programmes, projects and plans (by the Judicial Secretary) 4.Jurisdiction in conflict of laws 1.Overview of judicial system 2.Overview of records management 3.Registry and records procedures Magistrates Court 4.Registry and records procedures High Court 5.Registry and records procedures Court of Appeal 6.Registry and records procedures Supreme Court 7.Record center procedures 21 Leadership Training Seminar 1.Overview of management 2.Overview of human resources management 3.Strategic planning 4.Change management 5.Customer care & service 6.Leadership 22. Training Workshop for Police Prosecutors 16-18 April 2007 1.Overview of the criminal justice system in The Gambia 2.The law and procedure on proper investigation of criminal cases 3.Importance of criminal justice delivery in a developing economy 4.Witnesses: Importance and relevance in criminal justice delivery 5.Criminal prosecutions: Expectation of a trial judge from a prosecutor 6.Problems and challenges in criminal investigation in The Gambia and the way forward 7.GPPA Act and Regulations: Its provisions and how they can be used by investigators 8.Economic Crime Decree: Its provisions and nature of investigation under the Decree 23. Training of Process Servers 24. Training for Presidents, Members, Clerks, and Badge Messengers in each Rural Division 25. Access to Justice in The Gambia: Consultative Review of the Legal Aid TBD 4
Bill, 2007 10-12 September 2007 5