Project profile — Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening

• Dominica (5.18%)
• Belize (6.66%)
• Suriname (5.18%)
• Saint Lucia (5.92%)
• Guyana (9.63%)
• Antigua and Barbuda (5.18%)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis (4.44%)
• Barbados (7.40%)
• Trinidad And Tobago (5.18%)
• Jamaica (4.44%)
• Grenada (5.18%)
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines (5.21%)
• Montserrat (4.44%)

• West Indies, regional (25.96%)

• Government And Civil Society, General: Legal and judicial development (15130) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (principal objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (significant objective)

This project aims to strengthen the judicial system to be more responsive to the needs of citizens. Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states suffer from outdated legal frameworks, which result in weak justice systems that are bogged down by delays and inefficient courts. Project activities include: (1) re-engineer business process including and gender sensitive administrative and customer service procedures and policies and caseflow management processes which integrate alternative dispute resolution sensitive to marginalized groups; (2) deliver training to court administrators and support staff in the core competencies of court administrators; (3) develop, introduce and enhance appropriate delay and backlog reduction mechanisms; and (4) establish court administration policies and procedures. A transparent and predictable legal system benefits local and foreign investors as well as every day citizens such as women, men, youth, business and the poor.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) strengthened customer focused and gender responsive court and judicial service delivery in the CARICOM region.

Results achieved as of March 2022 include: (1) equipped and supported establishment of virtual courts in the region to comply with public health regulations during the pandemic; (2) provided support to public education campaigns for court users on the safe use of the courts and access to justice; (3) conducted a baseline study on access to justice in the court system by Indigenous and other marginalized groups; (4) enhanced business continuity planning for regional and national courts to manage disruptions caused by the pandemic; (5) operationalized a Sexual Offences Model Court in Antigua and Barbuda, modelling the guidelines developed for handling sexual offence cases for children and others; (6) developed Sexual Offence Guidelines to provide support to victims of gender-based violence comprehensively; (7) transferred technical capacity and knowledge to courts in Guyana and Barbados for sexual offence cases; (8) provided video equipment to courts in Dominica, Guyana, and St. Lucia, and the Caribbean Court of Justice to increase legal rulings using virtual medium; (9) developed a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan for courts in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; (10) increased complementing mediators in Barbados, Guyana, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines; (11) established court-directed mediation in Barbados; (12) trained judges and magistrates in Barbados, Belize and Trinidad in gender-based legal ruling; (13) supported the Caribbean Community in launching a special Administrative Court for regional personnel matters at the Caribbean Court of Justice; and (14) Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago adopted new policies, practices, or procedures to strengthen service delivery. These results contribute to improving court administration and the administration of justice by strengthening the ability of the courts and judiciary to resolve cases efficiently and fairly.

• Proactive disclosure