In January 2022, the Caribbean Court of Justice was accepted into the International Consortium for Court Excellence (ICCE). The ICCE is an international network of courts and other organisations with expertise in court and judicial administration, dedicated to ensuring high-quality service delivery. It was formed in 2007 by founding members with expertise in court and judicial administration.
The Framework
The goal of the Consortium is to continually develop and apply a framework of values, concepts and tools for courts and tribunals, with the aim of improving the quality of justice and judicial administration. This framework is known as the International Framework for Court Excellence (IFCE). The IFCE is a quality management system designed to help courts improve their performance and build public trust and confidence. The Framework represents an all-encompassing approach to achieving court excellence, rather than a more limited focus on aspects of court governance, management, or operations. It consists of the following:
- A Framework of universal core values, seven areas of court excellence aligned with those values, as well as concepts and tools by which courts worldwide can voluntarily assess and improve the quality of justice and court administration.
- A self-evaluation process using the Court Excellence Self-Assessment Questionnaire that evaluates a court’s performance against seven areas of excellence, and provides guidance for courts to improve their performance.
- The Global Measures of Court Performance include eleven (11) focused, clear, and actionable core court performance measures aligned with the values and areas of court excellence of the Framework.
In order to accomplish this, the CCJ had to demonstrate significant use of the International Framework for Court Excellence. Acceptance, therefore, serves as external validation of the Court’s effective use of the Framework. Adoption of the Framework assists courts to deliver high-quality services that are essential to achieve their critical role and function in society. Courts are unique institutions and are obliged to maintain high standards. As such, there is a great need for regular review of court procedures and for administration and performance measurement. The Framework addresses this need and helps to promote judicial independence and accountability thereby providing guidance to courts seeking to earn and maintain a high level of community confidence.
To be accepted into the ICCE, the CCJ had to demonstrate significant use of the International Framework for Court Excellence. Acceptance, therefore, serves as external validation of the Court’s effective use of the Framework. Adoption of the Framework assists courts to deliver high-quality services that are essential to achieve their critical role and function in society. Because courts are unique institutions and are obliged to maintain high standards, there is a great need for regular review of court procedures and for administration and performance measurement. The Framework addresses this need. It helps to promote judicial independence and accountability and provides guidance to courts seeking to earn and maintain a high level of community confidence.
To learn more about the ICCE and the Framework please visit the ICCE’s website.
