ISDLS - Reports - MEROL Conference

The ISDLS Middle East Rule of Law Conference took place on June 30 – July 2, 2003, at Bilgi University in Istanbul, Turkey. The Conference presented to countries throughout the region the innovations made and challenges encountered during two successful collaborative reform initiatives in Egypt and Jordan.

A REGIONAL INITIATIVE

The Conference was an integral step in a greater ISDLS Middle East Rule of Law Project, a regional initiative which encourages collaboration among governments engaged in dispute resolution modernization efforts throughout the Middle East. ISDLS (in cooperation with the Middle East Partnership Initiative – MEPI) is currently engaged in civil justice modernization efforts in Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. These programs are evaluating the introduction of various forms of civil justice modernizations, including mediation, arbitration, judicial settlement, early neutral evaluation, and case management. ISDLS is also engaged in criminal justice modernization initiatives in Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey; these initiatives investigate the introduction of public defender programs and alternatives to the criminal trial – plea-bargaining, rehabilitation, and diversion programs – into the respective legal cultures.

The regional initiative, drawing on expertise gained from ISDLS’ programs in the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia, and Turkey, demonstrates the need for and cultural acceptability of legal reform, and accelerates an otherwise lengthy process of reform. Exposing countries to local reform efforts increases the acceptability of the reforms by demonstrating their utility and compatibility in differing, but similar, legal systems and cultures. A detailed examination of the stages in developing legal reform in similar countries accelerates the multi-phase process of reform study, design and implementation by presenting an applicable model that has successfully negotiated challenges that are common throughout the region.

THE CONFERENCE
(full conference report)

Representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman, France and the United States attended the Conference in Istanbul. The Conference was designed to: present concepts of civil and criminal justice modernization; expose participating countries to the functioning of the dispute resolution process and modernization efforts in the countries of the region; and present the practical considerations and challenges of reform study, design, and implementation. The presentations specifically addressed first hand reform experiences and considerations of countries in the region (Egypt and Jordan), allowing similarly situated countries that are contemplating modernization to accelerate their reform process. At the Conference, the thorough consideration of the Egyptian, Jordanian and US reforms demonstrated the benefits and the feasibility of legal dispute resolution modernization, and provided valuable lessons for similarly situated countries throughout the region with an interest in undertaking legal reform.

All of the delegates expressed that there is insufficient communication among the actors in the various Arab legal systems, and that, until the Conference, they had not been aware of the relevant procedural reforms in the region. The delegates expressed interest in expanding their individual efforts to include regional comparison and cooperation; this interest has been manifested in the ISDLS-MEPI program, which seeks to introduce civil justice modernizations in Oman, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait by drawing on the models developed in Egypt and Jordan. The ISDLS-ECA criminal justice program in Jordan draws upon expertise developed in the Egyptian program.

On the first day of the Conference, each country’s representatives summarized the functioning of their dispute resolution mechanisms and any implemented or proposed modernizations. The presentations and ensuing discourse provided a working appreciation for each country’s mechanisms and needs. On the second and third days, countries that have undertaken civil and criminal justice reform efforts presented their reform processes in greater detail, including the gradual steps in their study of the US reforms, the design of their models, training and implementation, evaluation and results. Each presentation was animatedly discussed during roundtable discussions between the delegates.

Presentations were given by eminent legal experts from the United States, including U.S. District Court Judge Fern Smith, Director of the Federal Judicial Center; President of the ISDLS Board of Directors and Attorney Robert Goodin; ISDLS Board member and Attorney Edward Davis; Attorney and expert in case management and civil justice reforms Vic Schachter; the late California Superior Court Judge Richard Iglehart. Non-U.S. experts included French Magistrate Yves Rabineau; Egyptian Court of Cassation Justices Aly Al Sadek and Hany Hanna; Jordanian Court of Cassation Justice Mohammad Al Kharabsheh; President of the First Magistrate Court and Moroccan Judge Leïla Lamrini; and Legal Advisor to the Moroccan Minister of Justice on Public and Parliamentarian Affairs Mr. Abdelilah Lahkim Bennani.

The conference closed with a compilation by the representatives from each country of a list of recommendations, which would be shared with the relevant legal bodies upon return to each home country. All county representatives in attendance expressed strong interest in conducting further study and in implementing alternatives to trial in their home countries.