Strengthening the Court Administration System IDF Grant (Serbia) The following IDF-financed activities would be carried out: 1.  Carrying out of a diagnostic review of the problems and needs of the current court administration system in Serbia.  Given the dramatic shortage of reliable data, assistance in assessing the current court administration system is crucial to the success of future reforms.  A detailed diagnostic study is a prerequisite for both the consultant(s) and the counterparts to better understand the sources and nature of problems and design a thorough reform plan.  The diagnostic review would be carried out by a team of representatives from the MOJ, the MOF, and the judiciary, with the assistance of international  consultants.  It would provide a detailed assessment of  the legal and policy framework and institutional setup of the court administration system, mechanisms of consultation among the MOJ, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), and relevant bodies of the judiciary.  The review would, among others, include: (i) court financing, to determine  current spending and staffing and the projected investment and recurrent cost of the potential elements of the judicial reform program; (ii) court statistics, to determine the capacity to systematically monitor the administration of justice and the impact of reforms; and (iii) cour t administration processes, to determine the organization of personnel management, operating procedures and other administrative processes and user services, including the needs for a phased computerization of court administration functions.  Input also would be sought from NGOs and public opinion surveys to assess the public perceptions of the efficiency of administrative services to users of  the courts.  A secondary objective of this component would be to create local capacity for ongoing self-assessment through the transfer of diagnostic methodology and know-how by the international consultants. 2.  Preparation of recommendations for short-term measures to strengthen the court administration capacity of the MOJ and the courts.  Based on the findings of the diagnostic review and in consultation with the representatives of the MOJ, MOF and the judiciary, the consultants would prepare recommendations for short-term and feasible measures to strengthen the court administration capacity of the MOJ and the judiciary, such as adjustment of staffing levels, internal reorganizations, streamlining of budgeting and court administration processes, and IDF-financed training needs. 3.  Carrying out of training seminars and study visits for selected MOJ staff and representatives of the judiciary.  First, the consultants, in collaboration with the Serbian counterparts, will design a  training program for court administrators that reflects the results of the diagnostic review and builds upon the short-term recommendations.  Second, the consultants will, based on the training program, conduct a training-for-trainers seminar that would provide selected judges and MOJ staff with tools and skills to transfer their acquired knowledge to other court administrators, including the development of training materials for a court administration manual.  Third, the consultants and the Serbian trainers will conduct two pilot training seminars that would equip a maximum number of selected judges and executive, non-political staff of the MOJ with practical tools and guidelines for performing their work.  The training program and materials would be designed in coordination with the Serbian Judicial Training Center. The study visits would expose a team of selected court administrators (expected to comprise about 8 representatives, 6 from the courts and 2 from the MOJ) to the experience and practices of European countries that have developed modern court administration systems or that have undergone a successful transition.  In particular, the proposed IDF would finance three study visits to: (i) Austria, for the reason that the Serbian legal system is largely based on the Austro-German legal tradition and culture and that Austria has a similar size and population as Serbia; (ii) Slovenia, for the reason that it is the prime model of a successfully reformed former SFRY republic that had faced the same legal inheritance as Serbia; and (iii) Hungary, for the reason that it is a leading Central European legal reformer with a common Austro-Germanic legal tradition and a Socialist legal inheritance, and a similar size and population as Serbia.  The recommendations stemming from the study visits would be reflected in the training seminars, international workshop and the master plan.  In addition, input would be sought from other donors such as GTZ, DFID and USAID to provide additional training assistance and possibly organize study visits in other countries. 4.  Setting up and testing of a pilot court administration information system at the MOJ.  The Serbian counterparts, in collaboration with the international consultants, would design and set up a pilot computerized system allowing information exchanges between the MOJ and the courts and the storage, processing and management of court administration data such as budgeting of court expenditures and maintenance of court statistics.  The consultants would train MOJ court administrators to operate the information system.  The system will be tested against pre-identified, monitorable criteria such as speed and volume of processed information and court administration outputs, and measures will be taken to make any necessary system improvements.  This activity will take into account the prospective project of the European Agency for Reconstruction for computerization of Serbian courts.  To the extent that IDF funding may be insufficient to fulfill all equipment and technology needs of the MOJ court administration staff,  those needs would be reflected in the master plan. 5.  Holding of an international expert workshop.  The workshop would include international experts in court administration, MOJ court administration staff, representatives of the judiciary, the MOF, Members of Parliament, other interested agencies, NGOs, and international donors.  It would present comparative methods and practices relevant to the identified issues in court administration, discuss and obtain feedback on the results of the IDF activities carried out so far, and provide a transparent and inclusive forum for discussion on the design and implementation of a strategy for reform of the court administration system in Serbia.  The discussions and conclusions of the workshop would be reflected in the design and recommendations of the master plan. 6.  Development of a master plan for the medium-to-long-term reform of the court administration system in Serbia.  The ultimate goal and outcome of the IDF Grant is to develop a master plan based on the results of the activities outlined above and proposing, in addition to the already recommended short-term measures, a comprehensive strategy for the medium-to-long-term reform of the court administration system.  The master plan would be prepared by the Serbian counterparts in consultation and collaboration with the international consultants, as well as with input from other stakeholders, donors and NGOs.  In the context of comprehensive legislative changes affecting the judiciary, the master plan should assist in identifying the remaining problems of the court administration system, providing policy-makers with a sustainable tool in deciding how to reorganize the judiciary and strengthen the institutional capacity of the MOJ irrespective of personnel changes, and outlining the needs and priorities for reform measures that could lend themselves to coordinated donor assistance.  The international consultants would also provide hands-on technical assistance to the Serbian counterparts in the preparation of a clear, detailed, and time-bound action plan for implementation of the master plan recommendations.