Ensuring optimum use of Court Managers

1. Ensuring optimum use of Court Managers Department of Justice

2. "Well-managed courts make good use of Information Technology. Automation requires courts and others work more closely and at new levels of detail. This creates tension and requires superior management, delegation, and communication. The quality of technical staff is critical and the market for them makes it difficult for courts to compete. But for even highly qualified court technologists to be effective, court leaders must manage the technologists. Talented court leaders know how to blend technical staff into the court and justice system, achieve common understandings and, very importantly, ensure that technical staff service and support those who do the court's work. Budget, staff, equipment, and caseflow and other business processes must be aligned."Curriculum Guidelines, National Association for Court Management, USA

3. Introduction • For enhancing the efficiency of court management, and resultant improvement in case disposal the 13th Finance Commission award recommended and financially supported having Court Managers • Funds made available only up to 31st March 2015 • Functional only in 14 States • Enhancing the efficiency of court managers would result in improving case disposal

4. Eligibility conditions for Court Manager • Degree or advanced diploma in management • 5 years experience in systems and process management • 5 years experience in IT systems management, HR management, financial systems management • Excellent people skills • Excellent communications skills • Excellent computer application skills

5. Benefits of Court Managers Court Managers deployed in each judicial district to assist Principal District and Sessions Judge One post created in District Court and two in High Court and one for each bench of the High Courts Court managers assist judges with a view to enhancing the efficiency of court management and resultant improvement in case disposal Court Managers would enable judges to devote more time to their judicial functions

6. Roles of Court Managers

7. Roles and Responsibilities • Policies and Standards • Assist courts to establish the performance standards • Create modalities for evaluation of compliance of courts with standards and identify deficiencies • Maintain such evaluation on current basis through annual updates • Planning • Prepare and update annually a 5-year Court Development Plan (CDP) in consultation with stakeholders of courts • Monitor the implementation of CDP and report progress

8. Roles and Responsibilities – Contd. • Information and statistics • Create mechanism for efficient compilation of statistics on all aspects of the functioning of court • Ensure compilation of reports on such statistics • Court Management • Undertake studies on compliance of the systems and procedures for court management as laid down the High Court • Suggest mechanisms to ensure that court management system safeguards quality, ensures efficiency and timeliness and minimises cost to litigants and to the State

9. Roles and Responsibilities – Contd. • Case Management • Create mechanisms to ensure that processes and procedures of the court are compliant with the relevant statutes and the policies established by High Courts for case management • Suggest improvements in case management system in consultation with presiding officers and their staff • Responsiveness Management • Ensure that the court meets standards established by High Courts on access to justice, legal aid and user friendliness

10. Roles and Responsibilities – Contd. • Human Resource Management (HRM) • Keep HRM of ministerial staff in the court under review to comply with HRM standards established by High Courts • Core Systems Management • Advise the court on effective document management, utilities management, infrastructure management and financial systems management • IT Systems Management • Set up compliance mechanisms for effective use of the IT systems of the court (e.g. eCourts) • Create mechanisms to monitor disposal of cases through NJDG

11. Status of 13th FC Award on Court Managers • Rs 300 crore allocated, only Rs 100 crore released; • Delays in appointing court managers • utilisation certificates received for only Rs 40 crore • Only 128 court managers appointed • Haryana(88), TN(70), Punjab(46), Rajasthan(39), Odisha(32), Bihar(32), AP(27), Jharkhand(24), Assam(23), Maharashtra(22), Karnataka(21), Gujarat(14), MP and Chhattisgarh(12each) • Monitoring stopped after award ended in March 2015

12. Court Managers internationally • United States • A court administrator plans and oversees a courthouse's administrative operations, facilities, budget and case management procedures. They can also run the court's communications, which includes speaking with the public about the court's activities or acting as a liaison for the court • South Africa • Court managers are responsible for the overall management of courts and act as a support to both the judiciary and prosecution. The duties of the court manager include business planning processes, managing the facilities and physical resources, as well as information and communications, Implementing departmental policies

13. Court Managers internationally • United Kingdom • A court administrator is responsible for dealing with enquiries from the public, preparing lists of the day's court sessions and keeping ushers informed of these, updating of court electronic systems with the decision of the court • Canada • The general purpose set out for the organization in the Courts Administration Service is to enhance accountability for the use of public money in support of court administration while safeguarding the independence of the judiciary

14. Thank you