Institutional Development Programs
Democracy and Governance
A fair and resilient judicial
system in any country depends on knowledgeable legal
practitioners working within systems that are transparent,
functional, and equitable. AMIDEAST has helped to introduce
broad-based principles of legal administration to the
justice systems of Arab countries. We have provided
advanced training to lawyers, judges, administrators,
and legal educators. Through AMIDEAST efforts, Arab
governments and professional associations have been
able to raise the standards of jurisprudence, legal
competence, and efficiency in their own countries justice
systems. The Democracy and Governance Programs we have
administered include:
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development
Region: Egypt
Duration: 2004–2009
Summary: In August 2004 USAID awarded AMIDEAST a
five-year contract to implement the Administration of
Justice Support II project (AOJS II) in Egypt. The purpose
of AOJS II is to assist the Government of Egypt to replicate,
in other courts, the reformed and modernized court systems
carried out in the Civil/Commercial courts of North
Cairo and Ismailia under AOJS I. The activities involved
in replication will be carried out primarily through
the Egyptian Ministry of Justice and its two key institutions
responsible for the nationwide replication of the pilot
court system: the Judicial Information Center (JIC)
and the National Center for Judicial Studies (NCJS).
The AOJS II project team includes three implementing
partners and six technical partners. The implementing
partners are America-Mideast Educational and Training
Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST), the National Center for State
Courts (NCSC), and Intercom Enterprises (Intercom).
These three partners have a history of strong collaboration
in AOJS I. AMIDEAST, with an institutional presence
in Egypt for almost 50 years, will serve as prime contractor
and provide overall project and financial management
services. NCSC, the foremost U.S. non-profit institution
providing leadership nationally and internationally
in advancing the rule of law and justice sector reform,
will provide technical leadership in court administration,
court automation and information delivery technologies,
change management in courts, and judicial training.
Intercom, an Egyptian information technology firm, will
contribute to court automation and computer services
components.
The AOJS II strategic approach is guided by the teams
vision, which includes an Egyptian judicial system with
strong, inclusive, strategic oversight by the Ministry
of Justice (MOJ), courts that are more efficient and
transparent, a constituency for court reform both within
and outside of the MOJ, more women in senior positions,
and greater public confidence in the courts. The strategy
includes (1) facilitating and supporting a structure
for stakeholder involvement; (2) institutionalizing
sustainable capacity for reform; (3) approaching court
reform holistically; (4) facilitating change management;
(5) maximizing participation; (6) promoting transparency;
and (7) promoting the use of information for strategic
management decision-making.
The cornerstone of the approach is a structure of groups
that fully engage direct stakeholders in strategic planning
and implementation, and will remain in place to guide
future judicial reform efforts. The AMIDEAST team will
provide training and technical support to these groups
and their institutions to achieve the target results.
Chaired by a senior MOJ official, a Project Steering
Committee (PSC) will include senior representatives
of various MOJ departments as well as the two Task 1
courts. The PSC will ensure coordination of efforts
and will also advocate within the MOJ for needed resources
and other support. Working Groups within NCJS, JIC,
and the two courts will operationalize the PSCs strategic
plan at the institutional level and lead institutional
reform initiatives. A special Working Group will focus
on increasing womens representation in the judiciary.
Challenge: Key target results include: more
transparent, effective, efficient courts; improved court
performance nationwide; NCJS operating a full continuing
legal education system; JIC meeting the MOJs requirements
for information management and delivery; more and stronger
policies and regulations supporting court modernization;
norms in the judicial system that encourage womens
participation and promotion; and increased competency
in the judiciary.
The six specific tasks entailed in realizing this vision
and meeting the requirements of the USAID contract are:
- Replicate Court Reforms Implemented in AOJS I in
Alexandria and Mansour or Port Said
- Develop Nationwide Replication Plan
- Strengthen Administrative Capacity of NCJS (National
Center for Judicial Studies)
- Strengthen JIC (Judicial Information Center)
- Strengthen Capacity of MOJ
- Develop and Implement Participant Training Program
The project started operations in mid-August, 2004,
and is currently being administered by James Grabowski,
Chief of Party. Three additional expatriate staff members
include the Deputy Chief of Party/Court Administration
Expert/Systems Analyst (AMIDEAST); a Judicial Education
Expert (NCSC), and a Judicial Information Systems Expert
(NCSC). In addition, fifteen Egyptian professionals
work in the project office in technical and support
functions.
AOJS II Project Office
6 Boules Hannah Street
2nd Floor
Dokki, Giza, Egypt
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development
Region: Egypt
Duration: 1996–2003
Summary: Project to enhance civil courts and judicial
education
Challenge: Reduce the case load backlog and judgment
delays in the civil court system
 Results:
Achieved a significant reduction in the average time
it takes for a case to go from initiation to final disposition
in pilot courts; indexed over 80,000 case records with
new information management systems; trained hundreds
of judges and judicial educators; increased the training
capacity of the National Center for Judicial Studies;
enhanced judicial education course offerings for new
and experienced judges; and implemented comprehensive
reform of administrative procedures in two civil courts
of first instance, helping to make those courts national
models.
Overview: AMIDEAST works with the Egyptian Ministry
of Justice to systemically evaluate and reform the civil
court system, reducing the cumbersome bureaucracy that
leads to a bottleneck of cases, overworked judges, and
the slow administration of justice for individuals and
businesses. AMIDEAST has developed a three-tiered approach
to enhance and improve the Egyptian civil court system.
The first tier involves designing continuing education
courses for Egyptian judges to ensure that the judges
have access to appropriate judicial/legal resources.
This advances the knowledge of jurists in the areas
of commercial and civil law as well as modern case and
court management practices. A permanent judicial education
faculty training program has been established to ensure
that Egyptian judicial educators are provided with a
thorough understanding of the most recent adult education
theories and practices. The second tier involves the
implementation of a pilot reform program in two courts,
one in Cairo and one in Ismailia. An entire set of innovative
reforms are being implemented to improve administrative
operations, judicial case management practices and court
technology. The third tier involves the use of modern
technology in filings cases and tracking the procedural
operations of the courts. Information technology is
being used to automate case initiation and case management
procedures. Case document imaging systems and electronic
archiving systems are being used where none had existed.
The pilot courts benefiting from AMIDEAST’s efforts
are now better able to initiate civil cases in a timely
and transparent manner. They are able to access information
about closed cases and the status of pending cases,
and to immediately retrieve copies of case documents.
These pilot courts are likely to one day serve as models
for other courts in the country, providing a step-by-step
example of how to make the administration of justice
more efficient.
Sponsor: U.S. Department of State
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Duration: 2001–2002
Summary: Workshops and resources for judicial
educators
Challenge: Improve the quality of training of
judicial educators in numerous countries
Results: Judges in 9 countries benefited from
2 advanced professional workshops held in the Middle
East and the United States
Overview: With funding from the U.S. Department
of State’s Open Grants Program, AMIDEAST developed
a project to address deficiencies in the quality of
pedagogical instruction at Arab judicial training institutions.
In most Arab countries, the judges and judicial personnel
who are responsible for training new judges receive
little to no formal instruction on how to impart knowledge
in the classroom. To address this situation, AMIDEAST
organized a “train-the-trainer” program to
instruct judicial educators on adult learning principles
and how to teach judicial information using more learning-centered
approaches. This project began with a regional training-of-trainers
program, hosted in Cairo at the National Center for
Judicial Studies. Participants went through a ten day
program in Arabic led by Arab and international experts.
This program was followed by a study tour for select
participants to the California Center for Judicial Education
and Research’s Continuing Judicial Education Program
in Monterrey, California. The visit to California provided
an important opportunity for participants to learn the
latest in best teaching methods, share techniques, and
network with each other and American peers. Participants
in this program included judges and Ministry personnel
from the countries of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, the Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen. Additional
support was provided by the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP).
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development
Region: The West Bank and Gaza
Duration: 1999–2002
Summary: Resource development for Palestinian
Bar Association
Challenge: Improve the legal capabilities and
professionalism of lawyers in Palestine
Results: Palestinian lawyers have an increased
knowledge-base and are now working within international
standards of practice; law library has been improved
Overview: AMIDEAST's USAID-funded Strengthening
the Legal Profession project focused on the rule of
law in areas under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.
AMIDEAST helped to provide technical assistance to strengthen
the Palestinian Bar Association (PBA), assisting the
Palestinian legal community to improve the legal services
available to the public. The three-year SLP project
achieved results in a number of areas. These included
effective governance, which included the adoption of
PBA by-laws; the construction and completion of a PBA
website, a custom-designed Arabic membership database
that keeps track of all practicing lawyers in the West
Bank and Gaza; and the installation of two state-of-the-art
video-conference centers to allow meetings between Gaza
and Ramallah legal professionals even during the closures
of the current Intifada. The law library was expanded
and better organized. Computer labs have been added
and lawyers have been trained on their use. In the course
of the project, SLP has made continuing education available
to lawyers and apprentices. These include a masters'
course on legal ethics, an English legal terminology
course, and a conference on the new law of the judiciary.
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Duration: 1993–1999
Summary: Training and scholarships for Egyptian
legal professionals
Challenge: Improve jurist proficiency in legal
English; enhance knowledge of legal rights political
application
Results: A large cross section of Egyptian professionals
benefited from training workshops and scholarships and
improved their understanding of legal issues
Overview: AMIDEAST's LRP project provided training,
seminars and counseling in legal English to numerous
professionals and the representatives of NGOs working
in the area. The program was particularly noteworthy
for developing a customized Legal English curriculum
and a specialized training program. Without a working
knowledge of English legal terminology, legal practitioners
are severely hampered when attending international judicial
reform and rule-of-law forums. AMIDEAST's efforts helped
to open up and broaden the discourse among Egyptian
jurists on legal rights issues and their political contexts.
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Duration: 1991–1995
Summary: Coordination of USAID development assistance
projects and other professional activities
Challenge: Support and coordinate democratic
development projects throughout the region
Results: Partnered with regional governments,
NGOs and international donors to successfully administer
numerous programs and events; built coalitions and networks
to help sustain the projects; provided targeted services
for institutions with limited capacity, helping them
to complete a variety of complex tasks
Overview: DDI served as a technical and administrative
resource hub, allowing for the coordination of various
USAID missions with local partner institutions running
projects in the judicial, legislative, and civil society
arenas. USAID contracted with AMIDEAST to coordinate
DDI because of AMIDEAST's special ability to administer
regional governance and justice initiatives. DDI provided
organizations with a range of services: trainings and
technical assistance, conference and networking support,
and assessment and program delivery consultation. AMIDEAST
worked with government agencies and other institutions
to develop and manage project activities, coordinate
operations, provide services when necessary, improve
the infrastructure of institutions, and enhance the
professional capacity of those involved in democratic
institution-building.
Sponsor: TLHR-Tunisia
Region: Tunisia
Duration: 1995–1997
Summary: Human Rights training and program development
for a Tunisian NGO
Challenge: Design a human rights program to
meet international standards and regional needs
Results: NGO leaders were provided with invaluable
knowledge and professional experience in the area of
global human rights law and issues; TLHR produced its
own human rights policies and educational materials
geared towards a Tunisian audience
Overview: AMIDEAST experts provided the Tunisian
League for Human Rights (TLHR) with research services,
advice, and international exchange opportunities. These
efforts helped the League to design its own mission
and a means of reaching out to the Tunisian public on
human rights issues. AMIDEAST trained TLHR officials
in researching and interpreting international human
rights laws. AMIDEAST also sponsored several excursions
to international human rights conventions, and advised
officials on international human rights covenants and
legal standards. AMIDEAST sponsored the League’s
participation in the 27th International Institute for
Human Rights Conference, which allowed the organization
to establish links with fellow groups around the world.
AMIDEAST arranged study tours of the United States to
learn about grassroots advocacy techniques and issues
related to poverty, race, homelessness in America and
the rights of indigenous peoples.
Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development
Region: The West Bank and Gaza
Duration: 1995–1997
Summary: Professional training and exposure
for Palestinian Bar Association
Challenge: Help the Palestinian Bar Association
to develop into a recognized legal institution within
the Palestinian territories. Assist the Palestinian
Authority in creating legal and legislative practices
Results: International and domestic recognition
established for the Palestinian Bar Association; improved
the legal skills of Palestinian lawyers; created exchange
networks between US and Palestinian Bar Associations
Overview: The Legal Exchange Project aided Palestinian
lawyers in developing their organizational skills and
assisted the Palestinian Authority in designing official
legal and legislative practices. AMIDEAST organized
professional consultations between members of the Palestinian
and U.S. Bars. AMIDEAST arranged the visit of nine Palestinian
Bar Association members to Washington, DC where they
learned about the activities, services, and management
techniques of both local and national bar associations.
A pilot legal education and training program was created
for lawyers in the West Bank/Gaza, sponsored by the
newly unified Palestinian Bar Association. AMIDEAST
organized workshops, open to all Palestinian lawyers,
on international trade and business, international law
(including human rights), legal policy development,
and legal office management. AMIDEAST helped the Palestinian
Bar Association win increased local and international
recognition as an independent professional association
dedicated to the rule of law.
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