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In September
2003, the Kingdom of Bahrain, in cooperation with the United States,
hosted the first Arab Judicial Forum. The American Bar Association
Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI) organized the
event.
The three-day
event brought together high-level government officials and nongovernmental
reformers active in the judicial arena from fifteen Arab countries,
the Palestinian Authority, the United Kingdom and the United States
to discuss essential elements of sound judicial systems, identify
common issues and develop plans for ongoing programs to address
those issues.
The Arab Judicial
Forum centered on four key themes:
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Judicial
Selection, Ethics and Training. This theme explores the
various means by which judges are appointed, the manner in which
nations ensure that judges act in an ethical manner, and the
need for and methods of training judges. In all of these areas,
the participants considered how to ensure that judges’
independence is preserved.
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Judicial
Role in Human Rights. Conference participants reviewed the
judiciary’s potential to play a critical role in safeguarding
human rights. In particular, participants discussed courts’
obligation to treat all citizens equally and to protect the
rights of those accused of criminal wrongdoing. The role of
nongovernmental organizations in protecting human rights was
also discussed.
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Efficiency
of Procedural Systems. Throughout the world, nations are
attempting to speed the efficiency and effectiveness of courts.
Forum participants examined ways to streamline trials and review
possible alternatives to trials, including mediation and arbitration.
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Transnational
Judicial and Legal Cooperation. The forum analyzed legal
issues that reach across national borders such as international
crime, money laundering and corruption, the enforcement of judgments
in foreign countries, and the possible benefits of uniform statutes
on foreign investment.
For each theme,
the Arab Judicial Forum hosted a plenary panel discussion followed
by in-depth working group sessions. The forum concluded with final
presentations by the working groups and announcements of follow-on
regional activities in the judicial field.
Click
here to read the final conference report.
(Also available
in Arabic in three sections: 1
2 3)
The Arab Judicial
Forum is a program of the President’s
Middle East Partnership Initiative administered by the U.S.
Department of State and is the first in a series of partnership
activities on judicial issues.
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****Click
on the links below to view materials
****from
the Arab Judicial Forum:
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