Methods Of Educating Newly Appointed Judges*

METHODS METHODS OF EDUCATING NEWLY APPOINTED JUDGES* By Mr. Justice Ch. Ijaz Ahmad, Judge, Lahore High Court INTRODUCTION First of all, I wish to extend my gratitude to the International Organization for Judicial Training (IOJT) and the National Judicial Institute Canada (NJI), on whose invitation I have the privilege of representing Pakistan's judiciary in this conference; which purports to establish a global organization, dedicated to the cause of training and continuing education for judges and fostering interaction and cooperation amongst the institutions, responsible for such activities. I appreciate that this will afford us a highly desired opportunity to learn from one another and to share, innovative approaches to the education of the judiciary and to build a strong network of judicial leaders in the field. It must be acknowledged to the credit of the Organizers of the conference that attracting and bringing together a broad international representation to share their experiences, is one of the primary goals of this conference. I should make a special mention of the charter of the International Organization for Judicial Training, which gives a direction to the deliberations of the conference and what is meant to be achieved. As I understand, its ultimate aim is to establish a mutual relationship of the Institutes concerned with judicial training, with a view of promoting the rule of law, considering common issues for the training and education of judges, encouraging and assisting in the establishment of judicial institutes where none existed and finally, developing the means to improve judicial education. The ultimate goal to be achieved is the advancement and promotion of training in the art of judging. What is of cardinal significance to me is the consideration that we are here to learn 'from one another and that after the conference is over, I will go back much wiser and vastly enriched with the experience which I will also share with my colleagues. *Substance of a paper delivered by His Lordship at the Second International Conference on Training of Judiciary held at Ottawa (Canada). 1- PRELUDE The Judge occupies a pre-eminent position in the modern State. He is the guardian of the rights and privileges of the people against the encroachment of private persons and the aggression of executives. His function consists in interpreting the laws of the country and applying then to individual cases. He has got to settle not only private disputes but to bring under review executive action. The way he discharges his duty is of vital importance to the people. The legislature may lay down good and wholesome laws, but they would not be of any avail if they are not ably, promptly, justly and impartially applied. Without right administration of justice, good government is out of question.[1] [1] Separation and Independence of Judiciary (1993) by the author of this note. The application of learning theory - specifically, humanistic and developmental explanations of learning---provides a range of useful insights to the process of judicial learning. Generally speaking, it is argued that humanist theory appears relevant to learning self - understanding; behaviourism is useful in teaching practical skills; and development theory has much to offer to goals of teaching ego, intellectual or moral development. In broad terms, it is argued that in appropriate foundations of any model of judicial education, Judges as learners are distinctive. In particular, the learning characteristics, needs, practices, preferences and constraints of judges can be distinguished from adult learners. These distinctive features arise from the process and criteria of judicial appointment, and the nature of tenure; judges' preferred learning styles and practices; doctrinal constraints, the formative nature of the judicial role and the environment surrounding judicial office; and judges' needs and reasons for participating in continuing education. [2] [2] Judicial Education on equality, Gender equality in the Courts---Leadership and the role of education (2003) by Livingston Armytage. Law is an expression of the common sense of the race. A Portugese proverb says. "Like king, like law; Like law, like people." It obliges us to do what is proper and not simply what is just. Therefore, good law, as Aristotle maintains, means good order. It is a pledge that the citizens will not only receive but also do justice to one another. It has been rightly said that the common good of all is the supreme law. All religions teach us to act justly with every one. Islam has also laid great emphasis on doing justice. Islam, as a way of life, provides comprehensive legal code for justice apart from general exhortation of justice. The salient features of Judicial System in Islam are as follows:-‑ --- The absence of justice results in total disintegration of the social structure. --- Deal justly that is nearest to your duty. --- If you judge between the mankind, judge justly. --- You have been sent as a Viceroy on earth, therefore, judge aright between mankind and do not follow desire. --- God has ordered to establish and execute through justice. --- The doing of justice is an attribute of God Almighty. --- The commandment to do justice and settle disputes between people emanates from and is the" necessary incident of the appointment of Prophets. --- Even the slightest deviation from what has been ordained will result in beguiling from the way of God. --- It is the bounden duty of the State to establish an effective system of administration of justice. --- Administration of justice for a single moment is better than non-obligatory worship of sixty years. --- A Judge must know laws of the land, he must be honest and his integrity must be above board. --- The law is supreme and the Judges must not subordinate to the Ruler. --- Treat all people equally while doing justice in Court so that the justice should be seen to be done and poor petitioner may not feel any deprivation of justice. --- The Judiciary should be beyond every kind of executive pressure or influence, above fear or favour, intrigue or corruption. --- Islam requires a Judge to be of such a calibre and character that if he himself is guilty of an unjust Act he should rise in judgment against himself. 2. Judges do not have an easy job. They repeatedly do what rest of us seek to avoid: make decision. They carry out this function in public. The judge has burdensome responsibilities to discharge. He has power over the lives and livelihood of all those litigants who enter his Court. If he is not careful, the judge may precipitate a civil war. [3] Despite its frustrations and difficulties, judicial work is a privilege, a pleasure and a duty of Almighty. [3]? Judges (1987) David Pannick The Chief Executive and his Cabinet is responsible to bring peace and normal law and order situation in every Society. This is achieved only and only by providing justice to the people of the Society. For this purpose, principles should be prescribed keeping in view the historical events since creation of mankind. It is the duty and obligation of the Chief Executive of the country to provide atmosphere wherein Judiciary is independent and free from internal and external pressure---which is possible by appointing independent Judges. II - INEVITABILITY OF JUDICIAL EDUCATION 3. I strongly believe that new judges need training. The issue of efficient judicial administration is mainly the problem of finding God fearing, capable and competent judges. Delay in the disposal of cases and the accumulation of arrears are mainly attributed to the incapacity of the judges to arrange their work methodically, to appreciate and apply the provisions of the law affectively. Despite well framed substantive laws and carefully designed procedural law, we need properly trained and capable judges to apply and administer laws. Without such judges, administration of justice can never be satisfactory, efficient and prompt. 4. We would not allow a doctor to perform a surgical operation without thorough training and certification, why not require as much of a trial judge who daily operates on the lives and fortune of others. As judges necessarily have an important role to play in applying the laws, there is every reason for ensuring that their selection, training and working conditions facilitate their ability to act wisely and decide impartially. Judicial education produces an efficient, and effective judiciary. It does so by analyzing the weaknesses of the judiciary, designing programmes to compensate for these weaknesses and presenting them to judges in a manner that is an authoritarian model of teaching where the educator directs a learning process which focuses on the subject. The process of merit selection determines appointment to judicial office and establishes a particular threshold of pre-existing competencies in legal knowledge and skills. Consequently, it is generally valid to claim that judges as learners possess extraordinary high levels of pre-existing professional competence.[4] Judges as a profession exhibit preferred learning styles and utilize preferred learning practices developed over the course of their careers. Judicial problem - solving involves a special form of artistry in that these problems are always ill structured, solutions are inconclusive and important features of the problem become apparent only as the situation unfolds. Expert judges bring to bear their own implicit theories on situations - personal perspective and values developed from prior experience --- and this influences how they look at the particular case before them.[5] It follows that the challenge for the judicial educator is to be able to integrate knowledge acquired from judicial practice with principles and theories to facilitate the best application of judgment. [4] "An empirical study of Judges" Reasons for Participation in Continuing Professional Education(1982) by Catlin [5] Educating Judicial Educators : Two perspectives by Cervero and Connev. A second aspect of judicial effectiveness is the collective judicial responsibility of listening to the community's complaints about the justice system and using its influence to shape the justice system to respond to responsible complaints. Normally judges do decide the controversies between the parties without any waste of time; but in many countries, difficulties in enforcing judgments can make successful litigation a hollow victory and bring the judiciary into disrepute. There are judicial, legislative and administrative ways of improving enforcement of judgments. The judiciary has an interest and responsibility in supporting this and other necessary reforms in non-political ways. To be trusted and respected, judiciary must not only be impartial, competent, efficient and effective, but must be perceived to have those qualities. Transparency in procedure and process is required to achieve public faith as is an understanding by the judiciary that they perform a public service and need to respond to community expectations. Judges, like other players in the justice system, often need intellectual leadership to help them to fully understand the importance of this and to encourage them to lend their support to the application of means to achieve it.[6] [6] Sanda Oxner's Report (June 1999) on Judicial Education and the State of the Philippine Judiciary. III - NATURE AND SCOPE OF JUDICIAL EDUCATION 5. The nature and scope of judicial education depend upon the function of the judge in given society. The function of every judge, mainly, is to decide the cases brought before him according to law and in a just, fair and reasonable manner. The credibility and legitimacy of judicial decisions depend not only on its merits and soundness in law, but also on public perception of impartiality and objectivity of the procedure adopted by the judge. This is a delicate task both effective in imparting knowledge and cost effective. The creation and support of an impartial mind has different focuses. For example, in the newly emerging States of Eastern Europe, the focus is on changing the judiciary from a bureaucracy mechanically applying the law and acting as a conduit for the delivery of political decisions, to an impartial, independent dispute resolution mechanism. In other countries, judicial education places emphasis on attitudinal change to improve judicial integrity and independence and to eliminate open and hidden bias which judges have to internalize when they assume the role of judging. The functions of the judge are as follows:‑ (a) Conducting a fair trial and determination of facts The most important function of a judge is to conduct the proceedings in a fair, orderly and dignified manner. To find out truth is the concern of a judge. Besides knowledge of law, a judge is required to be equipped with variety of skills. A judge's personality and values influence his decisions and the atmosphere he creates in the courtroom. His body language and tone, his reaction to a witness, his interaction with others in the courtroom, his manner of ruling on objections, his treatment of advocates also affects public perception of the fairness of trial. Hence, a judge should keep in mind the maxim that justice should not only be done but appear to have been done. (b) Writing Judgments: After determining facts and hearing arguments, the Judge has to perform the most important function of delivering judgment on which his credibility and validity are assessed by the legal community, the parties and the public at large. Judicial reasoning is both an art and a science. The competence in language and communication of a Judge is critical for this task.. Intricate facts have to be analyzed and important legal principles have to be explained to arrive at just conclusion. (c) Awarding punishment: In criminal proceedings, the judge has to perform another important function of awarding an appropriate sentence to the guilty with better understanding of different punishments and the nature of human behaviour, the sentencing function has assumed an important role in the administration of criminal justice. Similarly, the calculation of damages in a civil Court is not that easy as generally understood. (d) Human rights: The emergence of human rights in its varied dimensions in substantive and procedural laws makes varying demands from-the trial judge. Hence, the trial judge is required to have an interest and wholesome understanding of human rights jurisprudence as developed by international law. (e) Judge as an administrator: A Judge is required to be an able administrator also. He has to manage the ministerial staff intelligently and imaginatively through continuing interaction, motivation, supervision and leadership. He should also keep the Bar in good humour with a message of firmness and impartiality. He should make every endeavour for excellence in his job and earn the reputation of being a "good Judge". (f) Functional skills: The judicial function is a challenge to the judges. In order to carry out a noble assignment of dispensing justice efficiently and impartially, a trial judge, amongst others, has to improve his knowledge in the context of: (i) fair trial (ii) fair judgment (iii) methods of facts writing (iv) art of judgment writing (v) sentence determination or calculation of damages (vi) management of fair, dignified and orderly Court proceedings (vii) management of information, record, staff etc. (viii) updating knowledge about development of law (ix) professional skills & ethics (x) rule of law IV ? OBJECTIVES 6. The development of curriculum apart, it is necessary for all concerned with the dissemination of knowledge and information, to determine with precision, the objectives of their activities. The following objectives are, therefore, prescribed to develop quality judges and for better administration of judges: (a) bring home the message that judicial power is a sacred trust and that the judges are accountable to God Almighty Himself; (b) Ensure the observance of high ethical standards in the performance of their functions; (c) Help the judges to adhere to the highest standards of personal and official conduct; (d) Help judges to meet the expectations of the society over which they have been called upon to preside; (e) Endeavour to preserve the judicial system's fairness, integrity and impartiality by eliminating bias and prejudice; (f) Improve the quality of judicial decisions to strengthen the moral authority of the Court; (g) Promote the concept of accountability to ensure independence of the judiciary; (h) Endeavour to make the trainee judges believe that they are not employees in the sense of "employment" and that they exercise the authority of the. State as one of its organs: (i) Endeavour to cause a conviction in the trainee judges that they have to perform special functions in the society and that they are a special class; To meet the aforementioned objectives, education, training and development must be: (a) Continuous and creative --- responding both to traditional legal process and powerful and changing demands; (b) Inclusive --- ensuring that education, training and development (judicial branch education) happens in all trial Courts and across the judiciary and justice system and is delivered to a target audience that is broader than judges and Court staff; (c) Accessible and tailored --- requiring that personal and---professional growth and skill development opportunities are equally available and readily available and affordable, in time and money and that they consider the background, experience and needs of individual judges, staff and others on whom the Court depends; (d) Well managed --- ensuring that judicial branch education for judges, staff, and to others is aligned with the Court, its mission, vision, structure and work flows and that it is well managed and built around sound adult education methods and advanced technology. (e) Evaluated --- making sure that judicial branch education programmes evolve in response to the social context, needs for equitable access to development opportunities, and assessments of their organizational priorities. V. - METHODS OF EDUCATION Education is a formalized process by which people learn. Pivotal to the development of any education process is the need to provide the means for effective learning: Theorists have sought to understand and explain the learning process, and their investigations have focused upon the delineation of various types of learning. Explanation of how learning takes place have been assessed through various theoretical and clinical means. Within this understanding, it is argued that any paradigm of adult education should be seen primarily as a process of facilitation based on self directed learning, where the educator is cast in the role of facilitator in the process centered on the learner, rather than as from the judicial mind in fact finding, particularly in relation to gender and ethnic issues. "Efficiency" includes efficient judicial court room management (placing the judge and not the bar in charge of case management), case flow and process efficiency, reform of rules and procedures to early narrow the issues, encourage timely settlements and respond to contemporary needs, Court annexed and free standing mediation and other alternative dispute resolution practices. Efficiency also relates to appropriate physical structures and adequate equipment and access to such judicial tools as statute books, precedent cases, legal texts and other scholarly writing. "Competence" relates to knowledge of substantive and procedural laws - no easy task for a generalist judge in the complex modern legal world, and "judicial skills such as chairpersonship skills and oral and ' written communication skills. It is not enough for a judge to be impartial, efficient and competent. 'He must also be effective in interpreting and shaping the law to achieve a just solution. This may be achieved by the use of 'judicially developed techniques such as domestic application of international human rights norms, interpretation of constitutions or through the judicial exercise of discretion. Integrity and legal competence are required to bridge the gap between the law and a just solution or to prevent decisions on technicalities that un-necessarily avoid the merits of the case. Knowledge and understanding of the community in which one lives is a prerequisite for an effective judge. Knowledge and understanding of the philosophy behind economic reform is also prerequisite. [7] [7] Sanda Oxner's Report (June 1999) on Judicial Education and the State of the Philippine Judiciary. The doctrinal significance of judicial independence has been seen to be highly influential in any judicial approach to the notion of continuing education. It follows that educators should make efforts to ensure that judges recognize the independence and integrity of the process, in order to appease any concern of possible indoctrination. There are differences between judges and other professionals in their, motivations and perceived needs for continuing education. Appointment to judicial office and the enviornment surrounding judicial tenure create educational needs distinct from other professionals. The difference appears most dramatic when the reward system is examined: Judges may participate to develop new skills in order to be more competent, but not to increase their income; thus, the development of competence, in the case of a judge, must be a reward itself. These elements are distinguishing features which have significant implications for educators in terms of both the content and the process of any programme of continuing judicial educators. Based on afore-mentioned distinctive features, in my view, there are chiefly two methods of educating newly appointed judges: 1. By conduct 2. By education. By Conduct: The method of educating by conduct implies a legacy of mannerism set by outgoing senior judges which inspires a newly appointed judge to follow their footprints. Whenever a person is appointed as a judge, he should be made aware that he has joined that part of society which has its own values and traditions and any departure therefrom would result in chaos. The seniors should act as role model and set valuable norms which should have automotive effect. No education or training would have a driving force if milieu is corrupt: I strongly believe in the maxim that action speaks louder than words. May I take the audience, in support of my contention, to an historical event. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) prevailed upon the people of Mecca to embrace Islam not on the basis of any charm or miracle but on the strength of his conduct, behaviour and mannerism. It is traditional that a judge learns the task of judiciary by monitoring the Court work for a few days while sitting beside a senior judge. No education or training to a newly appointed judge would be productive if the conduct of a senior Judge is not befitting to it. Hence, a heavy duty is cast upon the senior judges in educating the newly appointed judges. Only the senior judges by their conduct can develop graciousness, moral courage, mercy, patience, communication skills, decisiveness, honesty and integrity ---the qualities of a good judge --- in the newly appointed judges. By Education The method of educating newly appointed judges by words has different dimensions. The purpose and object of each dimension is to equip a judge with a requisite level of expertise to deal with complex and technical issues and to maintain effective administration of justice. In view of distinctive features of judiciary, there is a need for educators to develop a specific model of judicial education which extends the foundations of professional competencies, to pursue professional artistry and promote active self-analysis and critical reflection. Following are some of the methods by which we may produce quality judges and thereby maintain administration of justice: (i) Lecture - cum - Discussion. (ii) Moot Courts and Mock Trials (iii) Clinical Education and Externships. . (iv) Legal Writing anti Reasoning, Legal Research, Law Reviews and Journals. (v) Computer (vi) Small Group discussion and workshops. (vii) Periodic examination. VI - JUDICIAL TRAINING IN PAKISTAN JUSTICE DELAYED-JUSTICE DENIED Justice delayed-justice denied is a well known phrase. The phrase is possessing its definition in itself. As such there is no need to elaborate the same. However, it can emphatically be said that it is the common phenomena all over the world that justice is not being done promptly and efficiently as it should be. The Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan- Mr. Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui in his address in Saarc Law Conference held in Karachi (Pakistan) published in "News &Views" has mentioned of one of the causes of delay in justice in the following words: - "The major cause of delay in justice was the frequency of adjournments without a reasonable and genuine excuse. It is a very serious issue and must be handled with due diligence. Adjournments are sought and granted in routine. Unless the judges and the lawyers make concerted efforts to avoid the phenomenon of adjournments, the goal of expeditious dispensation of justice will remain illusory. A judge has to perform his functions undaunted by the difficulties and problems faced by him in his daily life." JUDICIAL RIM FEDERAL JUDICIAL ACADEMY ISLAMABAD (PAKISTAN) In view of above conceptual background the First Law Reforms Commission (1958-59) recommended that the civil judges "should receive an intensive practical training in the functions of a subordinate Judge for an adequate period of (one or two years) before they are allowed to work independently", and that "during the period of probation, they should be made familiar with the working of various departments of government, including the Police Department, and that they should be confirmed when they have passed a departmental examination". The Second Law Reforms Commission (1967-1970) of Pakistan also, inter-alia, made the following recommendations on the subject: I. "A Judicial Service Academy be set up to impart training to serving and newly recruited judicial officers in substantive and procedural law, the art of judgment writing, the appreciation of case law, the interpretation of statutes and in the general techniques of planning and organizing judicial work efficiently and with the least inconvenience to the litigant public." II. "The Academy should cater for both the Magistrates and the Civil Judges." III. "The Judicial Officers should also be instructed in general subjects connected with police and revenue administration and imparted knowledge about the development activities in the country. " IV. "Judicial Officers with less than ten years service should also be selected by rotation for a short intensive course of training of at least three months duration at the Academy." V. The Academy should also arrange seminars and Discussion Groups for judicial officers and members of the Bar to devise ways and means for improving the work of Courts and the quality of judicial work." VI "The Academy, should in course of time initiate comparative studies in judicial procedure and techniques employed by other countries to expedite the disposal of Court cases." In consequence of these recommendations `and further deliberations, the Academy was established for the first time in 1988 under a Resolution of the Government of Pakistan. It was accommodated at different places from time to time till the present regular campus was built by the Government of Pakistan, amongst others with the contribution of The Asia Foundation. Later, a legal cover to the organization and functioning of Academy was provided with the enforcement of Federal Judicial Academy Act, 1997. AIMS AND OBJECTS The Academy has, been established to provide for the proper training of judicial officers and Court personnel in order to improve the professional competence of fudges for achievement of the avowed goal of improvement of the judicial system and the quality of judicial dispensation. The Academy purports to achieve this goal by pre-service and in-service training and orientation of judges, magistrates, law officers and Court personnel, holding of conferences, seminars, workshops and symposia, publishing of journals, memoirs, research papers and reports. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT A survey was conducted in March-April, 2002 for judicial education needs assessment, to be used as foundation for curriculum design. The needs assessment document was based on the one provided by Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and modified by the Federal Judicial Academy to better suit the local conditions. The purpose of survey was to gather information to be taken into account in designing a curriculum which responds to the community perception of judicial weaknesses that could be removed through judicial education. The needs assessment survey report compiled by the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, under the guidance of Hon'ble Judge Sandra E. Oxner, then President of the Institute, has been of immense help in guiding us to the preparation of a curriculum for judicial training. The Academy's curriculum has been developed and built mainly on the existing experience of the Academy's Faculty, which consists of sitting and retired judges of the district judiciary, who have been directly concerned with the administration of justice and are, by virtue of that circumstance, fully conversant with the trial methods, substantive and procedural laws, the difficulties faced by the judges in expeditious disposal of cases and the challenge of growing public criticism about the quality of judicial work. PERIODIC REVIEW MECHANISM Another aspect of the matter should also find expression in this article. The curricula remain in the process of constant development. A Curricula Review Committee, comprising members of the Faculty and some of the resource persons, has therefore been set up for periodic review of the curricula. The Director General shall be the Convener of the Committee and it shall meet at least once a year for necessary deliberations. The Additional Director of the Academy shall, in addition to his duties, function as Secretary of the Committee, with the assistance of other members of the staff. The Academy' campus will serve as secretariat of the Committee. This will ensure not only the Faculty's association with the development of curricula, but also its religious commitment to the study of new social relations, developing in the wake of behavioural changes and paradigm shifts in attitudes, outlook, environment, values and culture. TRAINING OF TRAINERS Since the 5th of August 2002, twelve workshops were held in the Federal Judicial Academy. Mr. Livingston Armytage Team Leader of the Strengthening of Institutional Capacity of Judicial and Legal Reforms Project (now Access to Justice Programme) was the facilitator. Out of these nine workshops, seven were held on presentation skills with topics such as, understanding the principles of adult learning, effective communication, workshop techniques, using of multimedia projector, flip charts, materials and overhead projector, workshop sessions planning, brainstorming, group discussion, case studies and solo/duet exercises, legal research skills, judicial decision-making and judgment writing skills. Each workshop was of three to four hours duration, purporting to explain and demonstrate the practice of adult learning by using training-by-doing active learning techniques. In each workshop, the participants made presentations which were video-recorded for the purpose of review, critique and feedback. The objective was to introduce and develop formal and informal presentation skills for the Directors of Instructions at the Federal Judicial Academy, building on the experience of existing professional staff, such as the Director General and Directors Instructions. RESOURCE PERSONS To raise the standard and quality of instructions imparted to the trainee judges and the participants of seminars, workshops, symposia and colloquium, the Academy invites sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court and the High Courts, sitting and retired District & Sessions Judges and other eminent jurists. The participants of different programmes get an opportunity to meet and learn from the expertise and immense knowledge of the learned resources persons. This is in addition to the valuable contribution made by the permanent faculty members of the Academy. PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAMMES Ever since its inceptions, 102 training programmes, refresher and re-orientation courses, seminars and workshops have been conducted, during which training has been imparted to 2215 civil judges? cum-judicial magistrates, senior civil judges, Additional District &. Sessions Judges, District & Sessions Judges and Court personnel, hailing from all the four provinces and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Lectures and discourses by eminent scholars and jurists were arranged on large number of subjects, to equip the trainee judges with judicial skills, required to improve the quality of justice, with greater stress on subjects such as the rule of law, alternative dispute resolution, framing charge in criminal cases, issues in civil matters, the conduct of a judge, Court management, etiquettes and manners, self-management and stress management. Various other topics were also covered, with particular emphasis on civil practice and procedure, maintenance of Court registers and record, case management, style of judicial reasoning and the process of decision making. ORIENTATION COURSES AND WORKSHOPS A four-day workshop for Members of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was held from 18.7.2001 to 21.7.2001. Lectures were arranged on Judgment Writing; An Over-view of General Clauses Act; The Role of Tax Ombudsman with reference to Federal Taxes; An Introduction to Islamic Law; Rectification; Interpretation of statutes; Income Tax Reforms; A critical study of the Income Tax Ordinance and Stare Decisis. Two workshops of two week duration in each case for orientation of 35 Banking Courts Judges hailing from all the four Provinces, were arranged in the campus of the Academy. These workshops were held in compliance with the specific direction of the Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chairman Board of Governors of the Academy, made in consequence of a discussion with the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan. The Chief Justice came to the conclusion that the judges of the Banking Courts must be made conversant with the banking practices and procedures, for improvement in the quality of justice. CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS Special mention may be made of the seminars on Drugs Law and Justice for District and Sessions Judges, Supermacy of law', International Colloquium on Alternative Disputes Resolution, special course on Drug Abuse & Law Enforcement for Narcotics Control Board's Officers, Seminar on "Criminal Justice System at District Level" in collaboration with Good Governance Group and the seminar on "Mediation as an Alternative to Litigation" in collaboration with United States Information Service. LOCAL STUDY TOURS Arrangements are made for the trainee judges to visit the Supreme Court, Police Training College Sihala and to ness the proceedings, which make a valuable addition to their experience and knowledge. FOREIGN STUDY TOURS .Foreign study tours are also arranged for the Judges and Administrative Officers for a comparative study of justice systems of the world. THE BENCH BOOK This book published by Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights contains guidance regarding court work at the trial and appellate levels. COMPUTER LABORATORIES The Academy has a handful number of computers to be used in the administration of justice as a modern device. LIBRARY The library being maintained by the Academy consists of 8500 books on the subjects including statute law, jurisprudence; Islamic law, Human rights, Economics, Interpretation of Statutes and other allied subjects. MODEL COURT Arrangement has. also been made to impart practical training to the participants along with class room lectures, panel discussions and workshops. The trainees are required to perform as judges in a model court programme. The judges who act as Presiding Officers in the programme, write judgments which are discussed with the course participants. This programme has tremendously contributed towards enhancing confidence of the trainee judges, including their grasp over practical issues. An audio-visual equipment is used in the model Court programme for recording the whole exercise which is displayed subsequently for identification of 'different aspects, necessary for improving the efficiency of the participants. VIDEO CONFERENCING SYSTEM The Video Conferencing System is being installed in the Academy under Access to Justice Programme. CURRICULUM FEDERAL JUDICIAL ACADEMY ISLAMABAD (PAKISTAN) CONTENTS --- Preface --- Training Curriculum for Newly Recruited Civil Judges --- Training Curriculum for directly Recruited Additional District & Sessions Judges --- Training Curriculum for Newly Promoted Additional District & Sessions Judges --- Training Curriculum for Senior Civil Judges --- Workshop Curriculum for District & Sessions Judges --- Training Curriculum for Superintendents attached with the Sessions Courts. --- Training Curriculum for Law Officers --- Attorneys. --- Continuing Judicial Education Seminars/Workshops -- Computer Literacy --- MIS Training Programmes --- Training Programmes for each Financial Year --- Relevance of Federal Judicial Academy --- Principles of Policy VII ? CONCLUSION Administration of justice is now universally recognized as one of the most basic obligations of a State. For us it is a social imperative. It hardly requires an emphasis that, with reference to the prevalent socio-political and economic situation in the world, survival of all nations of the world can be possible only with establishment of a system where merit is the rule and which will ensure fair, efficient and speedy administration of vertical, horizontal and all-embracing justice; as would annihilate tyranny, oppression and victimization. This can be achieved only with the improvement of judicial system and the quality of judicial business. 'In the background of - these considerations; the role of a judge is undeniably a basic. and an indispensable factor, for we must have professionally efficient judges to administer a qualitative, fair and speedy justice. Continuing judicial education has? to be regarded as an accepted part o judicial functions, for growth of the mental qualities of the judges, necessary for sustenance of judicial independence. ***