The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has become the first court in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to be accepted into the prestigious International Consortium for Court Excellence (ICCE).
The ICCE is an international network of courts and other organizations with expertise in court and judicial administration, dedicated to ensuring high-quality service delivery.
Just a few months shy of its 17th anniversary in April 2022, the CCJ has joined the ranks of other long-established organizations — such as the Supreme Court of Singapore and the National Centre for States Courts of the United States — that also belong to the ICCE.
To be accepted into the ICCE, organizations must demonstrate a commitment to excellence using an International Framework for Court Excellence (IFCE), a quality management system designed to help courts consistently improve their performance in seven core areas.
These include court management and leadership, court policies, court proceedings, public trust and confidence, user satisfaction, court resources and affordable and accessible court services.
Following an objective self-assessment undertaken by the regional court, several projects were subsequently initiated to address limitations identified from the assessment.
Under the leadership of the current President, Justice Adrian Saunders, the system has now been fully incorporated into the CCJ’s administrative practices.
Together with the CCJ’s strategic plan, the Framework has become a major influence on all its projects and organizational processes.
Some of these initiatives include: the implementation of an online e-Filing system which now allows individuals to file documents at the Court electronically, reducing the cost and time spent on filing, the implementation of a Human Resources Information System that has improved the organization’s ability to effectively collect and store employee information, linking the Court’s Strategic Agenda to its Excellence Framework with the creation of monitoring and evaluation processes and introduction of Enterprise Risk Management to help the court identify and manage risks.
These initiatives have helped to transform the manner in which the CCJ currently operates.
Thanking employees for their contribution in achieving this honour, President Saunders noted that the journey does not stop here.
He remarked, “While we can proudly state that we are living our strategic vision of being a model of judicial excellence, excellence is not a static achievement. It is a non-stop cycle that requires continuous improvement.”
He also pledged that the court “will continue to serve the region to the best of our ability, fulfilling our mission of providing accessible, fair and efficient justice for the people and states of the Caribbean Community.”
To learn more about the ways in which the Court is transforming its services to better serve the region, the public is encouraged to visit www.ccj.org
