NCJ Number
212026
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 97-120
Editor(s)
Rosemary Barberet
Date Published
2005
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the role of the United States-based court management approaches in recent court reform efforts underway in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia and assesses the reform processes applied and their status.
Abstract
The importance of good management approaches to create efficient court operations that ensure access to justice, timely and transparent dispositions, and increased public trust in courts has been recognized in the United States for three decades. Since court management has become a main staple of reforming court operations in the United States, it is not surprising that United States-funded development assistance in the Balkans and other countries has involved importing United States court management styles. This article reviews the role of the United States-based court management approaches in recent court reform efforts underway in the Balkan countries of Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia. The article also outlines how modern court management approaches fit into non-United States court systems, how they can be adjusted according to individual country needs and what the main obstacles are that such reform efforts generally face. The management techniques and systems developed in the United States, while based on a different system and legal assumptions, are universal enough to provide useful examples and lessons for developing similar concepts in Europe. References