Colombia, March 20, 2008 -- In recent years, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have faced growing demand for judicial services, which has produced congestion in the system, delays in the settlement of disputes, and the popular perception that the judiciary system is ineffective. These issues, together with dysfunctional management models, sluggish response times and insufficient attention to the demands of ordinary citizens, have pushed countries in the region to look for a meaningful change, as opposed to yet more false promises. The situation in Colombia in 2001 was typical, with the courts facing a backlog of over 393,000 cases with a resolution conflict index of only 15%. After five years of reforms, including those supported under the Judicial Conflict Resolution Improvement Project, the conflict resolution index was raised to120% and the number of cases in the backlog had decreased to 73,849. The goal of the project was to develop a new judicial service delivery model, to improve the timeliness and responsiveness of services provided to Colombian citizens and to increase the quality of the judicial system. “This was a modernization project that the judges of Colombia built themselves, agreed upon collectively, and validated together. They were involved throughout, contributing their expertise and the values, the care and thoughtfulness that characterize good public service” says Lucía Arbeláez de Tobón, Judge in the Administrative Chamber of the Higher Judiciary Council In addition to carry out the project in five Colombian cities (Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali and Medellín), which together account for 50% of the demand for judicial services in the country, the project was designed to improve key areas identified by the participants themselves. In the participating courts, judges organized working units, called “Judicial Change Teams” which worked under their direct supervision and leadership and identified priorities which ranged from cultural aspects through organizational and systems concerns to the layout of the courts. The role of the judges proved to be one of the most innovative and critical factors in the success of the project.
“I think the most important exercise was the analysis of the values we were going to put into practice. We learned about synergy, solidarity, efficiency, efficacy and transparency. These are the values we’ve been putting into practice, and they’ve changed the image of the justice system here” says Martha Cecilia Mayorga, Official of the 6th Civil Circuit Court of Bucaramanga. The strategy was successful in reducing procedural time and enhancing the overall service quality. Citizens now have a more positive perception of the effectiveness, quality and efficiency of judicial services, according to a user satisfaction survey carried out as part of the Project. According to the survey, the project achieved three main results: (a) it improved the Judiciary's social legitimacy and ability to respond effectively to the needs of society; (b) it created increased incentives for the resolution of civil conflicts through peaceful means (through team-building activities, training and courtroom refurbishment); and (c) it enabled a more effective and lower cost enforcement of contracts, improving the business environment. |
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