What options are available to the Afghan judiciary for improving its use of information and for organisational development? This United States Agency for International Development (USAID) report reviews information management planning and associated organisational development activities within the Afghanistan judiciary. It finds that the Afghan judiciary is affected by severe resource constraints. It must implement a number of change programme activities and processes – focusing on areas such as public trust and confidence – to overcome these challenges.
Since the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001 there have been several international agreements concerning the reconstruction of Afghanistan, both generally and in various economic sectors. The Supreme Court Strategy was issued on 15 April 2007 and set priorities for the whole judiciary. The Strategy focuses on improving the competency of the Afghan judiciary; providing a properly functioning judiciary in every Afghan province; strengthening the professionalism, credibility, and integrity of the judiciary; and increasing the efficiency and uniformity of court administration.
There has been no major shift in Afghanistan Government budget appropriations that might permit the Supreme Court the extra funds for developing its strategic goals without significant donor assistance. Moreover, implementing information management and organisation improvement programmes in the Afghan judiciary continues to be hampered by a number of factors.
- An evaluation of the resource constraints that apply to the judiciary shows that there are major shortcomings in available budget resources, judge numbers, judicial and administrative skills, building and office infrastructure, and access to communication and energy infrastructure.
- The impact of improved systems in courts outside the capital has been largely limited to manual process improvements, although there are opportunities for expanding the use of computerised information systems in the Supreme Court’s central office.
- A range of initiatives need to be pursued if the Afghan courts are to successfully pursue international standards for court management excellence as outlined in the recently published International Framework for Court Excellence.
32 areas are identified in which it is recommended that Afghan courts should actively apply improved processes and information systems. In terms of prioritising and sequencing, the Supreme Court’s strategy for overcoming present constraints should pursue these goals:
- Manual process re-engineering in courthouses. The Supreme Court should reinforce and complete the development of reformed manual systems for managing information in support of core court administrative and case management processes.
- Process reengineering and automation in the central office. Most of the 32 identified areas for improved information management can be pursued using the computer resources already available via the Supreme Court’s central local area network.
- Expanding court system connectivity. The Supreme Court should pursue the goal of connecting all operational courthouses to a wide area network so that each court may eventually use computerised network systems.
- Supplementing the Supreme Court Strategy. Successful implementation of change programming demands a commitment to regularly making and updating strategic planning.
