Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Ana Bilić Andrijanić Head of the Improving Judicial Efficiency Project High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH

Introduction 2004 – the HJPC BiH was established Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Introduction 2004 – the HJPC BiH was established Competences defined with the Law on the HJPC BiH Competences & responsibility for appointments, disciplinary proceedings, ICT matters & judicial administration... 2004 – judicial reform process begins

Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH The beginnings of the reform process & challenges faced by the HJPC BiH Informatisation of the judicial system Major backlogs in the courts Processing war crimes Unsuitable conditions within judicial buildings Not enough judicial office holders The method for evaluating judicial office holders was inefficient & lacked objectivity

Quota system for judges & judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Quota system for judges & judicial associates Orientational quotas from 1987 Criminal(K) 198 Criminal – juveniles (Km) 220 Civil litigation (P) 286 Commercial (Ps) 330 Civil litigation/commercial small claims (Mal and Mals) 500 Probate (O) 605 Non-contentious (R) 275 Other non-contentious (R) 715 Enforcement (no objections or hearings) (I, IP) 5500 (no hearings and on the spot) (I, Ip) 3300 with hearing & on the spot (I, Ip) 550

Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates

Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Problems faced by the HJPC BiH: Major backlogs Case valuation/weights lacked objectivity Inconsistent application of rules on monitoring the performance of judicial office holders Inconsistent evaluation of performance results for judicial office holders Performance evaluations lacked transparency

Steps taken towards developing a system Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Steps taken towards developing a system Collecting data Normative framework (established standards) Strengthening capacities Monitoring & evaluation Accountability & action

Collecting data Setting up an electronic database Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Collecting data Setting up an electronic database Case registration & electronic registers Ensuring data accuracy, adherence to procedures, proper case management…

Normative framework Established standards Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Normative framework Established standards 2011 – framework to address the age breakdown of cases 2012 – framework for measuring productivity (quotas) 2013 – timeframes for processing cases

Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Quota examples in BiH – Civil litigation Old quota: P – 24 cases per month (completed using any method) New quota: P – 16 cases per month – Decision on merits & court settlement 66 cases per month – Default judgments 88 cases per month – Completed using other methods

Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates The Book of Rules: General provisions Greater case valuation/weights (up to the equivalent of a six month quota) Court presidents – different quotas based on “court size” Department heads – different quotas based on “department size”

Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quotas for judges/judicial associates: Monthly quotas Court level (municipal/basic, cantonal/district, supreme courts, Court of BiH) Case types (criminal, civil, administrative…) Cases subtypes (juvenile criminal, small claims…) Case completion method (decision on merits, plea bargain, court settlement…)

Results stemming from the new quotas Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Results stemming from the new quotas

Results stemming from the new quotas Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Results stemming from the new quotas

Results stemming from the new quotas Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Results stemming from the new quotas 2011 – 2015 Number of pending utility cases reduced by 26% The duration of pending utility cases before the first instance courts reduced by 18% Over 500,000 of the oldest utility cases completed

Performance quota system for judges and legal associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and legal associates Current challenges: Case quotas set according to complexity Greater case valuations/weights (yes/no) when and how Case quotas set according to the legal basis Establish an appropriate balance among all efficiency parameters

Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Performance quota system for judges & judicial associates of the courts in BiH Performance quota system for judges and judicial associates Professional support to the community throughout the reform processes: The Standing Committee for the Efficiency of the Courts within the HJPC BiH Constructive comments and proposals provided by the courts are considered Activities on amendments to the Book of Rules are currently ongoing within the Project Monitoring, amendments – must become regular activities for the HJPC BiH

THANK YOU Ana Bilić Andrijanić Head of the Improving Judicial Efficiency Project High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH