In Support of the International Framework for Court Excellence
Resolution 9: In Support of the International Framework for Court Excellence
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices (the Conference) recognizes the importance of assessing the performance of the operation of state courts; and
WHEREAS, the Conference has previously adopted resolutions in support of the Trial Court Performance Standards, the Appellate Court Performance Standards, and CourTools, and the Conference of State Court Administrators has prepared a 2008 white paper entitled Promoting a Culture of Accountability and Transparency: Court System Performance Measures; and
WHEREAS, an international consortium consisting of groups and organizations from Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States has developed the International Framework for Court Excellence; and
WHEREAS, the National Center for State Courts and members of the Conference have played an important role in the development and promotion of the Framework; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the consortium's efforts has been the development of a framework of values, concepts, and tools by which courts worldwide can voluntarily assess and improve the quality of justice and court administration they deliver; and
WHEREAS, the Framework adopts the core values of equality, fairness, impartiality, independence of decision making, competence, integrity, transparency, accessibility, timeliness, and certainty; and
WHEREAS, the Framework is built around seven areas of court excellence which are: (1) court management and leadership; (2) court policies; (3) human, material and financial resources; (4) court proceedings; (5) client needs and satisfaction; (6) affordable and accessible court services; and (7) public trust and confidence; and
WHEREAS, the Conference embraces the core values and the seven areas of excellence; and
WHEREAS, the Framework serves as an excellent complement to the work of the Conference and the National Center for State Courts;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conference of Chief Justices congratulates the consortium on its work, endorses the International Framework for Court Excellence, and encourages Conference members to apply the Framework in the administration of their own courts.
Adopted as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Court Management Committee at the CCJ/COSCA Annual Meeting in August 2009