Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative

Judicial actors – judges, investigating magistrates, prosecutors and defense counsel – play a central role in the conduct of fair trials, including by encouraging robust prosecution, ensuring that defendants’ rights are protected, and delivering effective verdicts. 

The Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative encompasses a variety of activities through which the IIJ is providing training for judicial actors in the IIJ’s geographic focus areas. The Initiative supports judicial actors in their handling of terrorism cases within a rule of law framework through the implementation and operationalisation of the GCTF’s The Hague Memorandum on Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses, the GCTF’s Glion Recommendations on the Use of Rule of Law-Based Administrative Measures in a Counterterrorism Context, and related IIJ, UN and other tools and frameworks. 

One of the IIJ’s oldest and most diverse Core Initiatives, the Programmatic Unit has worked collaboratively with practitioners, donors and partner organisations to design and deliver tailored capacity-building in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, East and West Africa, and the Southern Mediterranean region. 

With support from the

Government of Canada
European Union
Government of Germany
Government of Switzerland
Government of Türkiye
Government of the United States
SPOTLIGHT

Delivering Remote Hearings & Safeguarding Rights During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Nasser Al Salamat, President of the Civil Authority, State Security Court, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, used his training to deliver remote hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring full participation of all parties and safeguarding the defendant’s rights to a fair trial.

Judge Nasser presided over the first remote hearing in a terrorism case in Jordan, conducted via videoconference, with the prosecution, defence attorney and the justice panel located in the courthouse, and the defendant participating from the facility in which he was incarcerated. The IIJ – UNODC/TPB expert meeting assisted him in understanding the technical requirements needed to conduct a remote hearing while safeguarding the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Following the expert meeting, Judge Nasser met with the court’s information technology team and the incarceration facility staff to ensure that both the courtroom and the detention facility had sufficient audio and visual equipment to capture the proceedings from all angles, ensuring the parties’ ability to participate meaningfully in the proceedings.

In Action

IIJ Judicial Capacity Building-Initiative: Regional Workshop on Reducing Pre-trial Detention in a Rule-of-Law Context

In October 2022, the IIJ convened its first regional workshop on reducing excessive pre-trial detention in West Africa. The workshop — convened with support from the Government of Germany — brought together 45 practitioners from Benin,...

IIJ Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative: ICCT & IIJ Workshop for MENA Region on the Criminal Justice Approaches to the Interlinkages between Terrorism and Core International Crimes, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Crimes, Human Trafficking, Migrant Smuggling, Slavery and Crimes Against Children

On 27 and 30 June, 4 and 7 July 2022, the IIJ, in collaboration with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) convened a four-day online workshop on ‘Criminal Justice Approaches to the Linkages between Terrorism and...

IIJ Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative: Joint IIJ & UNODC Workshop on Accelerating Case Review and Reducing Pre-Trial Detention for Terrorist Offences through Remote Access Technology in Niger

In July 2022, the IIJ and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) convened a workshop in Niamey to assess the feasibility and interest of Nigerien practitioners to introduce videoconferencing technology into preliminary proceedings,...

IIJ Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative: ICCT & IIJ Workshop for Francophone African Countries on the Criminal Justice Approaches to the Interlinkages between Terrorism and Core International Crimes, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Crimes, Human Trafficking, Migrant Smuggling, Slavery and Crimes Against Children

In May 2022, the IIJ, in collaboration with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) convened a four-day online workshop on ‘Criminal Justice Approaches to the Linkages between Terrorism and Core International Crimes’. The workshop, generously supported...

Practitioner Tools & Resources

IIJ Prosecutor Outline

IIJ Judicial Guidelines on Good Practices for the Adjudication of Terrorism Offences

Glion Recommendations on the Use of Rule of Law-Based Administrative Measures in a Counterterrorism Context

The Hague Memorandum on Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses