The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has unveiled its Strategic Plan for 2019-2024, under the theme ‘Unlocking Potential’, which outlines 14 goals and 41 accompanying strategies to improve the organisation.
According to a CCJ release, the plan is already guiding the court’s operations, with each unit having used it to develop this year’s work plans. It added that the process for implementing the plan will be iterative, with each unit assessing the results of their efforts on an ongoing basis, and then adjusting their work plans to ensure the results are aligned with their goals.
“Our intention is to take bolder strides and to be more innovative; to better empower decision makers; to communicate more effectively both internally and with all our stakeholders; to work more meaningfully with partners and justice sector bodies in the region; to strengthen our bonds with the Caribbean people and to advance the rule of law,” CCJ President and Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee, Justice Adrian Saunders asserted.
“The CCJ’s strategic plan contains six strategic issues, which are further broken down into 14 goals and 41 strategies that will be used to effectively fulfil the CCJ’s aim of unlocking the potential of the organisation. The six strategic issues include: communication; independence and accountability; high performance environment; equality, fairness and integrity in promoting the rule of law, organisational capacity for caseload growth and enhanced regional system capacity and performance. The new strategic plan also includes a new mission, vision and values for the Court, which was developed by the judges and staff,” it was related.
The release said the development of the strategy—the second in the organisation’s history—was done with the support of the JURIST Project, a judicial reform initiative funded by Canada, and that it was implemented by the CCJ.
The plan was developed using a collaborative process, with its design and execution influenced by lessons learned from the Court’s first strategic plan period, which ran from 2012 – 2017. Representatives of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), the CCJ Trust Fund, regional judiciaries, bar associations, law schools and faculties of law provided relevant input, while judges and the staff of the Court were integral in identifying issues and providing recommendations that informed the plan.
The release noted that Dr. Daniel Straub, Dean of the Fellows Programme of the Institute of Court Managers (ICM) of the National Centre for State Courts, helped to steer the process that will direct how the Court will assess its performance and direct its resources over the next five years.
The CCJ’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024, is available in hard copy at the CCJ’s headquarters and can also be downloaded from the Court’s website, which can be accessed at ccj.org.
