General People’s Committee for Justice
on the regulations for inspection of judicial bodies
The General People’s Committee for Justice:
Upon review of:
Formation and Duties of the Judicial Body Inspection Department
The Judicial Body Inspection Department shall consist of an Administrative Board, general assembly, and a sufficient number of inspectors assigned pursuant to a decree issued by the General People’s Committee for Justice, based on the proposal of the Administrative Board, provided they hold a grade not lower than head of a first instance court or the equivalent thereof. Assignments may be made on a full-time basis or in addition to their primary job.
The Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board shall consist of a chairman and four members each holding a grade not lower than counsellor at the courts of appeal or equivalent thereof. Assignments may be made on a full-time basis under a decree from the General People’s Committee for Justice.
The general assembly of the Judicial Body Inspection Department shall consist of:
The most senior member of the Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board shall assume the activities of its chairman in the event of his absence or unavailability.
The Administrative Board shall meet at the invitation of its chairman. The meetings thereof shall only be valid with the attendance of a majority of the members. Decisions shall be issued by absolute majority of the members in attendance. Committee decisions shall be by consensus in the event that the meeting is held with three members.
The Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board shall exercise the competencies of the inspection department set out in the legislation in force. In doing so, it may perform the following:
Such shall take place by collecting information to find out their competence level, inquiring into the extent of their commitment and adherence to their duties and position, the extent of their supervision of the employees who work under their management, and identification of anything that harms the honour of their position or relates to their conduct.
Article (7)
The general assembly shall hold competence to perform the following:
The general assembly shall hold its meetings at least two times a year. The first meeting shall be during the second week of the month of December, and the second meeting during the second week of the month of June. The general assembly shall have a secretariat assuming the administrative activities and duties required for its work.
The chairman of the Administrative Board shall submit a report to the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs annually or whenever requested, stating therein the activities undertaken by the Administrative Board and any proposals deemed necessary for proper work flow in the judicial bodies.
Rules and Procedures of Technical Inspection
The technical inspection of the activities of the members of judicial bodies subject to inspection must be conducted at least twice each year. The chairman of the Administrative Board shall set the period included in the inspection and the date for filing the inspection reports at the Administrative Board’s headquarters or competent branch thereof.
The inspector must hold a grade higher than the person inspected.
The inspector shall inspect and review the activities performed by the inspected person during the period being inspected. The inspection report shall consist of two sections. The first section shall contain the administrative [and] judicial observations made by the inspector during the inspection and the inspector’s opinion on the soundness of the inspected person’s work, the extent to which they followed judicial and jurisprudential activity, and any information they discover about their reputation.
Article (14)
Without prejudice to the preceding Article, no judicial action in any case that is still being heard before a judge under inspection may be inspected.
If an inspector finds that the inspected person is the head of a court, prosecution, or a branch, office, or section of the Lawsuits Department or the Department of People’s Legal Defence, the technical and administrative activities performed thereby by virtue of their position must be taken into consideration when preparing the inspection report.
The activities of judicial bodies assigned to preside over administrative committees with judicial jurisdiction shall be inspected, to examine their works and review the work undertaken thereby during the inspection period, in accordance with the manner set out herein, taking into consideration that others participated in the decision making.
Inspections of the activities of members of judicial bodies appointed on a full time basis or seconded to perform legal activities outside the judicial bodies shall be at the Inspection Department headquarters or competent branch thereof, as the case may be, or the inspector may to go to the workplace of the inspected person to conduct the investigation. In all cases, the inspector shall be provided with a copy of the legal activities performed by the inspected person, and the inspected person may submit to the inspector directly any of their activities they believe useful in order to identify the extent of their competence.
One or more committees shall be formed to assess the level of competence of inspected persons, pursuant to a decree from the General People’s Committee for Justice based on the proposal of the Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board. Each committee shall consist of three members, provided none filed the inspection report in question. Inspection reports shall be submitted to the committee for examination and assessment of the inspected person’s level of competence from the sum of the reports prepared thereon during the judicial year. Committee reports shall be issued by majority, signed by all members, and placed in the inspected person’s file.
If it finds that an inspection report is not sufficient to assess the inspected person’s competence, the committee may seek any clarifications from the inspector or inspected person that it deems necessary, or undertake any necessary measures to complete report elements or repeat the inspection, provided the proceedings in this regard are recorded in its written minutes.
Inspected persons shall be notified of the report by a copy sent by registered letter with return receipt or delivery thereto in person with signed statement of receipt. If certain observations contained in the report relate to work undertaken by more than one member of the judicial bodies, a copy thereof shall be sent to the member under inspection and a copy of the judicial observations sent to each member of such bodies who participated with them on this work.
Inspected persons have the right to challenge the inspection report or assessment of competence level within thirty days from the date of their notification. The challenge shall be made by filing their petition at the Judicial Body Inspection Department headquarters or competent branch thereof. The employee receiving the challenge shall record the filing date.
Persons notified of a copy of the judicial observations shall also have the right to challenge such by the same procedure.
The Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board shall review the challenges of inspected persons to decisions of the Competence Assessment Committee set out in the preceding Articles. Review of challenges shall be by examining the challenges submitted, making a decision thereon, and filing each challenge in the challenger’s file, indicating the committee’s opinion and legal grounds thereof, the observations dismissed, and the conclusions reached in the decision. Review of challenges shall be prompt and notification of the decision thereon shall be in accordance with the procedures set out in Article (18) and (20) hereof.
The general assembly of the Judicial Body Inspection Department shall form one or more committees of inspectors annually. Each committee shall consist of three members, provided none filed the inspection report in question. The committees shall examine and study the grievances submitted from inspected persons regarding decisions of the challenge review committee and prepare a comprehensive report on each one accompanied by a legal opinion, and forward it to the Undersecretary for Judicial and Legal Affairs, who shall undertake the procedures of submitting it to the General People’s Committee for Justice.
The same deadlines and procedures set out in Article (20) hereof shall apply to the grievances referred to in the preceding Article.
Assessments of competence level shall be final if no challenge or grievance is filed by the deadline provided in Article (20) hereof or a decision is issued on the challenge or grievance submitted.
The chairman of the Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board shall notify the Undersecretary for Judicial and Legal Affairs of the names of members of judicial bodies who have received two successive reports with the grade of “below average” or three successive reports with a grade of “average” to undertake the measures of submitting them to the General People’s Committee for Justice.
Periodic and Surprise Inspections
The goal of periodic and surprise inspections is to identify the state and regularity of work in terms of the number of cases pending and [ruled on], administrative and registrar activities, the extent to which the head of the court, prosecution, branch, or office supervises the work flow and their handling of faults or shortcomings therein, and shall also include a count of the workforce, the state of the location, and other material capabilities, listing any shortcomings or strengths thereof.
The Inspection Department Administrative Board shall determine the periods for periodic inspection of the courts, prosecutions, the Lawsuits Department, the Department of People’s Legal Defence, and the branches and offices thereof, for the purpose of identifying the regularity of its activities and the commitment of the members of judicial bodies working therein to perform the duties of their positions.
Such inspection shall take place in accordance with the program and distribution issued pursuant to a decree from the chairman of the Administrative Board.
Inspectors assigned to conduct inspections shall submit a report on their results to the chairman of the Administrative Board, which shall notify the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs with a copy thereof.
The Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board shall establish a specific work program for conducting surprise inspections of courts, prosecutions, the Lawsuits Department, the Department of People’s Legal Defence, and the branches and offices thereof, for the purpose of ascertaining the work flow and regularity thereof and the extent of care the employees take in performing their duties. The Board shall notify the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs of the results of this inspection.
The heads of courts, prosecutions, the Lawsuits Department and branches thereof, the Department of People’s Legal Defence and the branches and offices thereof shall, each within their purview, conduct surprise inspections of the body that it directs in order to inspect the work flow therein and the care taken by its employees in the performance of their duties. They shall inform the chairman of the Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board of the results of this inspection, which shall notify the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs with a copy thereof.
Heads of the judicial bodies mentioned in the preceding Article shall, each within their purview, monitor the daily administrative work of the body that it directs to ensure proper work flow therein and inquire into any apparent administrative shortcomings of a technical nature, in particular the following:
A report on the results of such inspections must be submitted every three months to the chairman of the Judicial Body Inspection Department Administrative Board, which shall notify the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs with a copy thereof.
These reports shall be under the consideration of the Competence Assessment Committee when assessing an inspected person’s level of competence.
Upon performance of a periodic inspection, inspectors shall write a special report on the auxiliary prosecutors and lawyers in training stating the technical performance level of each and observations on the extent of their interest, dedication, and enthusiasm for their work, and any possible shortcomings in their professional or personal conduct.
The chief prosecutor or head of the competent branch or office, as the case may be, shall submit to the inspection department committee a similar report every four months on the activities of auxiliary prosecutors and lawyers in training.
Upon completion of the first year of an auxiliary prosecutor or lawyer in training’s work, the competent inspector shall prepare a report on their work in light of the sum of the reports prepared thereon during the year, stating their opinion on the extent of the inspected persons’ suitability to join the judicial body corps and submit the report to the Competence Assessment Committee set out in Article (18) hereof, which shall determine their competence level and suitability. The chairman of the Inspection Department Administrative Board shall notify the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs of the inspection results and suitability of the inspected person to remain in their position or not.
A confidential register shall be created at the Department, and a page shall be allocated for each member of the judicial bodies recording a full summary of the contents of their technical file, in particular their status in terms of competence and care for the job, honesty, integrity, and the results of the inspection reports prepared thereon.
The files and register set out in the two preceding Articles shall be confidential, and may not be accessed by anyone except the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Justice, the Undersecretary of Judicial and Legal Affairs, or the related judicial bodies. The member themselves is entitled to access their technical file.
All complaints received against any member of the judicial bodies shall be kept in a special register at the Department by date received and indicate the actions undertaken with regard thereto.
Without prejudice to Articles (11)-(40) hereof, the Inspection Department Board shall examine and investigate complaints. No measures may be instituted against a member of the judicial bodies in any complaint unless the name and residence of the person submitting the complaint is stated therein along with the facts attributed to the person against whom the complaint was filed. The chairman of the Administrative Board may leave any complaint he finds lacks gravity or is based on deceit or bias on file.
Article (37)
The chairman of the Administrative Board shall assign one of the members thereof to examine or investigate complaints and may transfer those complaints he deems appropriate to an inspector to investigate and report back on the results.
If the complaints are due to a delay in ruling on a case, the disposition thereof, or inaction in any procedures of a case, [it shall be] referred to a head of the court, prosecution, the Lawsuits Department, or the Department of People’s Legal Defence, as the case may be, and the Inspection Department Administrative Board shall be notified of the reasons for this delay as well as the date of disposition.
If the investigation of the complaint finds a technical error calling for a judicial observation, the matter shall be submitted to the Competence Assessment Committee for review. If the error is related to a case being heard, the observation shall not be sent to the member of the judicial bodies against whom the complaint was filed unless the ruling in the case has become final. The observation shall be placed in the file of the member against whose actions the complaint was filed, and notified of such. Challenges to observations may be made in the manner set out in Article (20) hereof.
If the complaint is related to other matters such as personal conduct or administrative action, the head of the Administrative Board shall appoint an inspector to investigate it then submit the investigation to the Competence Assessment Committee for an opinion thereon.
If the committee finds that there are any shortcomings in conduct or erroneous administrative actions against the person against whom the complaint was filed, the matter shall be brought to the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Justice for action thereon.
The results of the complaint shall be placed in the file of the person against whom the complaint was filed and they shall be notified of such.
If the complaint is related to anyone holding the grade of a counsellor at the courts of appeal and higher or equivalent grades for members of the other judicial bodies, the investigation thereof shall be handled by a head of the courts of appeal appointed for this purpose by the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Justice, who shall be notified of the results of the investigation.
The internal regulation of the Judicial Body Inspection Department shall be issued pursuant to a decree from the General People’s Committee for Justice, based on a proposal from the Inspection Department Administrative Board.
The Undersecretary for Judicial and Legal Affairs shall monitor the implementation of these Regulations and prepare the required reports in this regard and submit them to the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Justice.
Article (43)
General Authority for Judicial Affairs Administrative Board Decree No. (2) of 1987 on the regulations for inspection of judicial bodies and General People’s Committee for Justice Secretary Decree No. (214) of 1990 on the internal regulation of the Judicial Body Inspection Department shall be repealed, and any provision conflicting with the provisions hereof shall also be repealed.
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its issue, and shall be published in the Official Gazette.
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