Program Summary

The Administration of Justice Support II (AOJS II) Project was the second part of a multifaceted initiative aimed at increasing efficiency and transparency in Egypt’s courts over a 13-year period (1996-2009). Building on foundations laid during AOJS I (1996-2004), AOJS II provided a framework for assisting Egypt’s Ministry of Justice as it implemented a nationwide program of court reform, automation, and training. Both AOJS I and AOJS II were funded by the USAID. AOJS II (2004-09) also served as an advocate for gender integration in Egypt’s judiciary, which had no women judges prior to 1994 and, until 2006, one largely symbolic justice at the Supreme Constitutional Court. AOJS II came to a close at the end of September 2009.

Main Objectives

•  Improve case management in eight courts
• Reduce time from filing to disposition in civil cases
•  Improve ratio of filings to dispositions
• Improve lawyers’ satisfaction with court operations
• Improve transparency and availability of information in the courts
• Train over 2,000 judges and staff
• Create central hub for training, IT support, and policy

 Key Results

• Replicated pilot reforms successfully adopted in two courts (North Cairo and Ismailia) during AOJS I in courts in Alexandria, Hurghada, Luxor, Mahalla, Mansoura, Marsa Matrouh, Qena, and Tanta and established a judiciary-wide IT network to connect and support them — important steps that will facilitate implementation of reforms in other courts, thereby improving AOJS’s chances for long-term success
  

• Created a “network and training hub” that is improving decision making and reducing the costs of implementing reforms in other courts
  

• Facilitated over 350 legal and professional training programs for more than 3,000 judges and staff, and exposed 100 judges and staff to best practices for court management in a variety of countries
  

• Supported major policy changes including Egypt’s historic decision to move ahead with gender integration in its court system by appointing the first women judges to the Courts of First Instance and by supporting subsequent measures during 2008; the creation of new Economic Courts in 2008; and adoption of a set of Court Performance Standards that will provide guidelines to help MOJ establish and maintain a high level of public service
  

• Helped Egypt’s courts more effectively serve the public by mproving  accessibility to court records and reducing the time required to file a civil case and issue a judgment in 11 courts
  

Highlights

• AOJS II implemented technical assistance and training activities in conjunction with the NationalCenter for Judicial Studies (NCJS) and the Judicial Information Center (JIC)—two of the MOJ’s key institutions responsible for training judges and managing the ministry’s court automation systems.
• In 2006, AMIDEAST paved the way for gender integration of Egypt’s courts by organizing a study tour for Ministry of Justice officials to Morocco, where they had an opportunity to examine Morocco’s experience with integrating women into the judiciary. Through workshops, training, and a study tour to the United States for 10 women judges, it provided further support.