Country programs

Operationalizing Commercial Courts in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh country initiative is part of Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP), a program funded by Global Affairs Canada and delivered by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA). TAP supports peer-to-peer cooperation between Canadian judges and judicial institutions abroad, helping partner countries strengthen judicial independence, accountability, and public confidence through practical, justice-sector reforms.

The initiative supports the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in giving practical effect to one of the country’s most significant judicial reforms in decades. The Government of Bangladesh has, for the first time, created a dedicated framework for commercial courts which came into effect in February 2026.   The reform responds to a long-standing constraint on the country’s business environment: commercial disputes are currently processed through ordinary civil procedures rooted in the 1908 Code of Civil Procedure, with multi-year timelines that undermine contract enforcement, raise transaction costs, and deter small and medium-sized enterprises from using the courts at all. As Bangladesh prepares for graduation from least developed country status in 2026 and seeks to attract higher levels of domestic and foreign investment, the new commercial courts are widely viewed as essential to  improve the ease of doing business, support economic diversification, and strengthen perceptions of predictability in contract enforcement.

The former Chief Justice of Bangladesh, who spearheaded the broader judicial reform process, identified Canadian expertise as a valuable input to operationalizing the new courts. The Canadian High Commission in Dhaka was subsequently invited by the Chief Justice as one of four international partners to participate in the courts’ establishment.

FJA’s institutional partners are the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, headed by the Chief Justice, and the Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI), the country’s national judicial training body. The initiative is supported by the High Commission of Canada in Dhaka and coordinated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has been engaged on parallel work with the Bangladesh judiciary.

The initiative is organized around two thematic streams. The first supports the Supreme Court in designing and operationalizing a commercial case management model that is distinct from ordinary civil procedure, including the development of practice directions, structured scheduling and firm adjournment controls, summary judgment mechanisms, and active judicial case management. A pilot cohort of approximately five commercial court judges and ten to fifteen core practitioners will be trained and mentored on the new model. The second stream supports JATI in developing a specialized commercial courts curriculum, along with procedural tools, templates and training materials necessary for sustained, system-wide adoption. The Canadian contribution will draw on direct experience with Commercial List procedures and time-bound litigation, calibrated to Bangladeshi conditions through close consultation with the Supreme Court, JATI and the commercial bar.

Implementation will run for ten to twelve months from approximately June 2026, with up to three expert missions to Bangladesh, supplemented by ongoing remote support and webinars. The initiative is aligned with Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, its commitments to inclusive governance and gender equality, and the broader development-trade nexus that anchors Canada’s evolving international assistance posture.

Expected outcomes include the consistent application of active, time-bound commercial case management practices in pilot courts; standardized tools, procedures and training materials adopted by the Supreme Court, JATI and court administration; and, over time, faster, more predictable and more transparent resolution of commercial disputes, with measurable benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises, women-led enterprises, and the wider business environment. The initiative is deliberately designed to support not only the immediate operationalization of the pilot commercial courts, but also the institutional foundations needed to sustain and scale the reform once the courts are running.

Enhancing Judicial Training, Public Engagement, and Administrative Efficiency in Ghana’s Judiciary

The Ghana country initiative is part of Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP), a program funded by Global Affairs Canada and delivered by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA). TAP supports peer-to-peer cooperation between Canadian judges and judicial institutions abroad, helping partner countries strengthen judicial independence, accountability, and public confidence through practical, justice-sector reforms.

The initiative responds to priorities set out by the Chief Justice of Ghana in the LEADing Justice Vision (2024 to 2027) and the Judicial Service’s Institutional Medium-Term Development Framework (2022 to 2025). The Ghanaian judiciary is in a sustained period of reform, working to improve access to justice, deepen public trust, modernize court administration, address case backlogs, and strengthen gender-sensitive and victim-responsive judicial processes. The initiative supports Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions, and SDG 5 on gender equality. It also builds on Canada’s long-standing collaboration with the Judicial Service of Ghana, which has previously contributed to legal capacity strengthening, court administration improvements, and the promotion of transparency and accountability in the judiciary.

FJA’s institutional partner in Ghana is the Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG), the constitutional body responsible for the administration of the courts and the management of judicial personnel. Day-to-day project coordination is led by the JSG’s Judicial Reforms and Projects Department. The initiative is supported on the Canadian side by the High Commission of Canada in Accra, which is central to coordinating the engagement and to communications and public diplomacy work throughout the project cycle.

The initiative is organized around two thematic streams. The first stream, criminal case flow management and court administration,  will focus on provision of tools and training to address delays in the criminal justice system and enable criminal cases to move through the courts more efficiently. The second stream, internal judicial communication and public outreach, will focus on regular, secure communication channels with judges as well as supporting how courts communicate with court users, the public and the media. The aim will be to demystify the courts, improve access to justice information, help people understand where to go and what to expect and strengthen public confidence in the justice system.

The first activity in the Ghana project was an introductory study trip of five Ghanaian officials, led by Supreme Court Justice Kweku T. Ackaah Boafo, from 29 May to 06 June 2026. The mission was coordinated in close consultation with Chief Justice of Ontario, the Honourable Michael Tulloch, and included exposure to Canadian practices related to topics such as criminal court administration, digital case management, judicial education, and public engagement and communications. The delegation also visited several specialized courts, including the Integrated Domestic Violence Court, Drug Court, Indigenous People’s Court and Mental Health Court.  The remainer of the project will include Canadian expert missions to Ghana and online support.

Canada–Palestine Judicial Cooperation Initiative

The Canada–Palestine Judicial Cooperation Initiative is the newest country engagement under the Government of Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP), a program funded by Global Affairs Canada and delivered by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA). TAP supports peer-to-peer cooperation between Canadian judges and judicial institutions abroad, helping partner countries strengthen judicial independence, accountability, and public confidence through practical, justice-sector reforms.

Canada recognized the State of Palestine in September 2025 and has since expanded its bilateral cooperation and international assistance, reflecting Canada’s view that strengthening Palestinian institutions is essential to preserving the possibility of a viable, secure, and self-governing Palestinian state. The justice sector in both Gaza and the West Bank has come under acute strain. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Justice, ninety-one per cent of Gaza’s justice sector infrastructure has been destroyed, including major courthouses, archives, and legal records. In the West Bank, intensified military operations, the installation of nearly one thousand additional movement barriers, growing case backlogs, fiscal pressure, and recent threats to judicial independence have compounded operating challenges. The fragmentation of legal frameworks between Gaza and the West Bank further complicates equitable justice delivery. Against this backdrop, the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the Palestinian Judicial Institute (PJI) have invited Canadian technical input alongside a wider international partner ecosystem.

FJA’s institutional partners in Palestine are the High Judicial Council, the apex body of judicial governance, and the Palestinian Judicial Institute, the national training arm of the Palestinian judiciary. The initiative is coordinated by FJA in partnership with the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association (CSCJA) and in close cooperation with the Representative Office of Canada to Palestine in Ramallah. The project is positioned to complement existing programming delivered through SAWASYA and the Office of the Quartet.

The project is a twelve-month pilot covering mid-2026 to mid-2027. It will deliver three to five virtual peer-to-peer sessions of approximately ninety minutes each between Canadian federally appointed judges and Palestinian judges, with preparatory and follow-up work around each session. A joint scoping and needs assessment process with HJC and PJI will narrow the agenda to three to five priority themes drawn from areas identified by the Palestinian judiciary, which may include alternative dispute resolution and judicially assisted settlement, commercial case management, case flow and backlog management, protection of vulnerable groups, trauma-informed approaches, and leadership and integrity in the judiciary. In the area of dispute resolution, particular attention is anticipated for judicially assisted approaches, including how judge-led settlement discussions can be structured to reduce backlog while reinforcing public confidence in the courts.

All Canadian-side engagement will be delivered virtually to Palestinian judges based in the West Bank, consistent with the current Government of Canada travel advisory. Canadian judges will not travel to the West Bank or Gaza, and discussions will remain strictly unclassified. Subject to prevailing security conditions, travel permissions, and visa facilitation, the initiative may include a technical visit to Canada by participating Palestinian judges as a complement to the virtual programme. The initiative is framed throughout as a strictly technical, peer-to-peer professional exchange between equals, anchored in priorities identified by Palestinian counterparts and coordinated with existing partners to reinforce Palestinian ownership.

The initial scoping with HJC and PJI is expected to conclude by summer 2026, with virtual sessions running through the balance of the twelve-month period. The pilot is deliberately limited in scope, allowing the partners to test the relevance of Canadian expertise in this context, the value of sustained engagement, and the conditions under which a more substantial follow-on initiative might be developed. Initial deliverables include an agreed scope of priority themes, session-by-session technical materials produced for the Palestinian judiciary, and a small functioning engagement network with named focal points on both sides to facilitate future cooperation.

Building the Capacity of Tanzania’s Judiciary in Criminal Justice

The Tanzania country initiative is part of Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP), a program funded by Global Affairs Canada and delivered by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA). TAP supports peer-to-peer cooperation between Canadian judges and judicial institutions abroad, helping partner countries strengthen judicial independence, accountability, and public confidence through practical, justice-sector reforms.

The initiative supports Tanzania’s judicial response to sexual assault, with a particular focus on the use of DNA evidence and the use of video-recorded victim testimony as a tool to avoid re-victimization. It responds to a request brought to the High Commission of Canada in Dar es Salaam by the Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA), the national-level body responsible for continuing judicial education in Tanzania. The IJA identified a focused set of evidentiary and discretionary capacity gaps that Tanzanian judges are confronting in criminal cases, and invited Canadian engagement on adjudication, sentencing, and victim-sensitive courtroom practice.

There is limited use of DNA evidence in criminal justice in Tanzania even though a national laboratory exists. DNA is admissible as evidence in Tanzanian courts however the law doesn’t make it a mandatory tool that judges and prosecutors use as proof of guilt. Criminal justice stakeholders need to be widely briefed, and care needs to be taken to successfully promote the use of DNA evidence into the court system. In addition, recording technology to spare survivors from testifying repeatedly is not yet routinely integrated into trial practice. Tanzania’s National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children II, launched in 2024, provides a national policy frame within which targeted judicial capacity-building can land.

FJA’s institutional partner is the United Republic of Tanzania’s Institute of Judicial Administration, headed by the Honourable Justice Dr. Paul F. Kihwelo of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania, who serves as Principal of the IJA at Lushoto. The initiative is supported on the Canadian side by the High Commission of Canada in Dar es Salaam, and will draw on expertise from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. The initiative is anchored in Canada’s broader engagement on gender equality in Tanzania, including Canada’s co-chairmanship of the Development Partner Group for Gender Equality and complementary investments under Women’s Voice and Leadership programming and the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

The Canadian programme combines three expert missions to Tanzania with remote engagement and a structured technical visit to Canada by senior Tanzanian judges and court staff. The Canadian visit will allow the Tanzanian delegation to observe first-hand how Canadian courts handle evidentiary matters in criminal cases, including site visits to prosecutorial services and courtroom practice. In-country activity in Tanzania will focus on peer-to-peer learning on rape myths and stereotypes, the rules of evidence on recent complaints, the effects of delayed reporting on case progression, the admissibility and proper use of DNA evidence, and the use of video-recorded testimony to reduce the trauma of repeated victim accounts.

Expected results include improved capacity at the IJA to plan and deliver gender-responsive continuing judicial education; better-informed application of judicial discretion in the sentencing of serious sexual offences; the introduction of DNA evidence into trial practice as a tool to strengthen the ability of judges to determine guilt or innocence; and the practical use of video-recorded testimony to reduce re-victimization in the courtroom. Implementation runs through the 2026 to 2027 cycle, with public engagement on both sides aligned to International Development Week in Canada and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

The Armenia country initiative is part of Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP), a Global Affairs Canada–funded program delivered by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA). TAP supports peer-to-peer cooperation between Canadian judges and judicial institutions abroad, helping partner countries strengthen judicial independence, accountability, and public confidence through practical, justice-sector reforms.

The inaugural engagement between Armenian and Canadian counterparts in the summer of 2025 established a shared focus on youth criminal justice. On the Armenian side, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) serves as the primary institutional partner. Although Armenia is not facing a severe youth crime situation, justice leaders expressed concern about emerging pressures, including early signs of drug exposure among youth, modest public trust, and uneven tools for proportionate decision-making. Both sides agreed that the initiative should concentrate on prevention and preparedness, enabling Armenia to address risks early and avoid escalation rather than responding reactively after the fact.

A Canadian judicial mission to Armenia in October 2025 met with the Supreme Judicial Council, the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Police, the Court of Cassation, the Criminal Court of Appeal, and civil society stakeholders.

The mission confirmed several common themes: growing concern about youth vulnerability and drugs, delays and fragmentation across enforcement and judicial actors, modest levels of public trust, and the absence of structured tools to support early intervention. Armenian counterparts underscored the need for clear diversion options that would allow young offenders to be redirected away from deeper criminal involvement, and for more effective reintegration measures so that youth who come into conflict with the law can return to society with hope, structure, and support. Across institutions, the delegation heard that prevention and preparedness must guide future efforts, since youth offending is still limited in scale and this is the moment to act before pressures intensify.

The next milestone in the project is the upcoming Armenian study mission to Canada in November 2025. The delegation will be led by the Supreme Judicial Council, Armenia’s highest judicial governance body responsible for appointments, oversight, and system-wide direction. It will also include the Deputy Head of the Court Administration Services, the institution responsible for court management and modernization. That office is currently advancing digital transformation, paperless court administration, and e-court development, priorities that align with Canadian experience in modern court administration. The delegation will further include three judges from relevant levels of court, ensuring that future judicial application reflects real courtroom needs and realities.

During the November visit, Armenian officials will examine Canadian practices in youth justice, including pre-sentence reporting, diversion, proportional sentencing, reintegration pathways, and multi-sector cooperation among courts, probation, schools, and community partners. This mission will lay the technical foundation for applied work in Armenia in the spring.

The Armenia initiative will deliver three concrete products by June 2026:

• a pre-sentence report model to support informed and proportionate judicial decision-making in youth matters;
• a legislative diversion decision framework to guide structured early intervention before custody is considered;
• and a public awareness and outreach product to help justice institutions communicate effectively with the public about youth rehabilitation, proportionality, and the role of the courts.

The project has concluded with a Canadian expert mission to Armenia, which will include a national conference in the spring of 2026, bringing together courts, prosecution services, police, educators, social services, and civil society. By July 2026, the initiative has wraped up with practical tools, improved coordination among justice actors, and a stronger foundation for prevention-focused, reintegration-oriented, and publicly trusted youth criminal justice in Armenia.

FJA is engaged with Ecuador under the GoC Technical Assistance Partnership program (TAP-FJA). TAP projects are short (one year) technical assistance projects, funded by Global Affairs Canada. FJA has had two TAP projects in Ecuador, one in 2024-25 and one in 2025-26.

Partner

FJA’s partner in Ecuador is the National Court (the apex court of general jurisdiction), although the project has engaged a much wider group of stakeholders during implementation. It may be noted that Canada, through TAP-FJA, is the National Court’s first international development partner.

Year One

The focus of Year One was on better integration of indigenous justice with the national justice system. Approximately 7% of the population of Ecuador is indigenous, ranging from communities who have had longstanding contact with the general population to remote Amazonian tribes whose contact is more recent and tenuous.  Most Indigenous communities have their own customary traditional methods of dispute resolution. These vary from community to community and are generally not codified but embedded in traditional cultural practices. Indigenous Justice systems are expressly recognized and protected under Article 171 of the Ecuadorian Constitution.

In practice there is a lack of clarity about jurisdiction and competence leading to conflicts between the systems. There is an absence of clear mechanisms for the implementation of Indigenous Justice, and a lack of interaction between legal authorities, Indigenous communities and the judicial system. For the latter, challenges include evidence and standards for proof of traditional practices; the application of Indigenous practices outside the geographical confines of communities; conflicts between traditional practices, such as corporal punishment, and national legal norms; determination of jurisdiction where individuals may be subject to proceedings under both Indigenous customs and regular courts; and recognition and enforcement of Indigenous Justice decisions. There are also many issues and concerns about the treatment of Indigenous people within the national justice system.

Year One involved three missions between Canada and Ecuador, supplemented by online engagements. The first was an incoming mission of senior Ecuadorian judicial personnel in November 2024, led by the Right Honourable José Dionicio Suing Nagua, Chief Justice of the National Court. The delegation visited Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver and engaged in a wide range of activities, including  a meeting with the Chief Justice of Canada, the Rt. Hon Richard Wagner and Supreme Court Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, Provincial and Superior Court judges and staff in Ontario and British Columbia, including specialized courts, Indigenous justice services, and the British Columbia Treaty Commission. The delegation also participated in the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice’s (CIAJ) Symposium on Indigenous Justice Systems in Calgary, where Chief Justice Nagua addressed a workshop on international perspectives on Indigenous Justice.

In March 2025, a Canadian delegation visited Ecuador and met with a wide range of stakeholders, including Indigenous representatives, to plan the next steps for this engagement. This was followed by a Canadian mission in June 2025 in which Canadian judges and experts acted as facilitators and resource persons to an intensive three-day consultation meeting between justice system and Indigenous stakeholders.  The consultation resulted in more than 30 short-, medium- and long-term recommendations focussed on practical steps to improve the integration of, and build mutual respect between, the national and Indigenous systems.

While the substantive outcomes of the consultation session are important, another important, albeit more intangible, result of the mission was the dialogue itself, which had never before taken place at such a level. As noted by a member of the Canadian delegation, the Hon. Leonard Marchand, Chief Justice of British Columbia:

From what I observed, the single most valuable development arising from our mission was simply bringing people together for respectful dialogue and mutual learning. Our small group included representatives from the courts, Indigenous communities, academia, the prosecutor’s office, the public defender’s office and the police. It was rewarding listening to the exchange of experiences and efforts amongst individual members of the group.

These observations were echoed by the other Canadian participants.

Year Two

Based on the success of the first year, Global Affairs Canada approved a second TAP-FJA engagement with Ecuador, to focus on jurisdictional boundaries and Indigenous land rights.

In November 2025 an Ecuadorian delegation, which included the Chief Justice of the National Court and the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, visited Canada for further engagement on indigenous justice.

The mission focused on Indigenous justice and jurisdictional issues, including meetings with academics and justices of the Quebec Superior and Provincial Courts, and a visit to the Kahnawà:ke First Nation, where the delegation was introduced to the unique Kahnawà:ke justice system, including its establishment, practical operation, and emphasis on restorative justice, as well as discussions with the Ratitsénhaienhs of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke. The delegation also met with a Justice of the Federal Court of Canada and officials from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to discuss jurisdiction, land claims, self-government, and reconciliation frameworks. The visit concluded with participation in the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice 2025 on Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Independence, where the two Chief Justices of Ecuador contributed to panels on “Comparative Perspectives on Democratic Decay” and the “Canada’s Role in Strengthening the Rule of Law Abroad”.

FJA’s final set of activities for Year Two will support the operationalization of Judicial Council Resolution No. 053‑2023, including adaptation into plain language, development of practical implementation tools, and preparation of training and orientation materials. In parallel, through cooperation with the Constitutional Court, the project will support the national dissemination of the Guide to Indigenous Justice Jurisprudence. This will include dissemination events in multiple provinces for law students, justice operators and the

general public, as well as intercultural dialogue and co-learning activities with selected Indigenous communities aimed at strengthening understanding of Indigenous justice principles, jurisdictional boundaries, constitutional standards, and the interaction between Indigenous and ordinary justice systems.  

[Currency date: January 2026]

Moldova emerged as an independent republic in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It remains politically divided, with a powerful pro-Russia faction seeking to destabilize a pro-Western faction. Nevertheless, Moldova continues to make progress towards membership of the European Union.

One of the conditions for EU membership is meeting EU standards for judicial independence and operations of the judicial system. Major challenges for the judiciary include impunity for judicial improprieties (with outdated rules on judicial ethics and weaknesses in the accountability mechanisms); and corruption in the judicial system.

FJA engaged with Moldova for two years (2023-24 and 2024-25), partnering with the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) and the Ministry of Justice. The engagement started with an incoming mission to Canada, involving representatives from the SCM, the judiciary and the National Institute of Justice.

The focus of the mission was “Judicial Ethics and Judicial System Communications: Building Public Confidence in the Administration of Justice”. The successful visit of the Moldovan delegates to Canada laid the foundation for subsequent activities, emphasizing the adoption of Canadian best practices and enhancing key aspects of judicial operations in Moldova:

• Judicial ethics and independence: A Canadian mission in March 2023 included several engagements on judicial accountability and ethics, followed by detailed comments by Canadian judicial experts on Moldova’s draft Code of Ethics, including commentary on the use of social media, sharing Canada’s recently adopted amendments to its own ethical guidelines. In May 2024 Canadian judges presented at a national conference on the themes of ethics and judicial independence, addressing Moldova-specific challenges such as conflicting views of younger judges related to freedom of expression, challenges at the European Court of Human Rights, and politicization of judicial reform.

• Media relations: Canadian experts delivered several training sessions to judges and court personnel in Moldova on judicial relationships with the media and public communications and outreach. The project also recorded and provided the SCM with an online training course on court communications.
• Virtual hearings: Canadian judges shared experiences and best practices on issues and challenges in virtual hearings, particularly transnational hearings.

• Decision writing: A Canadian judge lectured at the National Institute of Justice on judicial decision writing, emphasizing concise legal writing, structuring legal opinions, and exploring the ethical dimensions of judicial communications.

• Improving stakeholder communication and collaboration within the justice system: FJA provided precedents and organized a virtual meeting with representatives from the judicial stakeholder community (including judges, the bar association, and prosecutors) to explore the need for enhanced interdepartmental communication channels. This initiative underscored the importance of improving public service and coordinating reform efforts. In February 2024, the Chisinau Court of Appeal, in collaboration with the SCM, organized its first-ever public consultations.

South Africa is dealing with a mix of challenges: alarming rates of sexual and gender-based violence which directly erode women and human rights; high rates of poverty and unemployment which impair basic human rights and dignity; severe corruption which has crippled state institutions by impeding the effective delivery of basic services.

While South Africa has a robust judiciary that has proven to be a bulwark against state capture, corruption and human rights abuses, gaps exist that have an impact on human rights and especially women’s rights. The judiciary has played a crucial role in ensuring government accountability and transparency.

FJA engaged with South Africa in TAP Year 1 (2023-24). While the project’s start experienced a delay because judicial engagements awaited a pioneering meeting between the Chief Justices of the South African Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Canada – a step outside the scope of TAP and FJA and one that required careful planning – this led to a fruitful exchange.

Held in March 2024, the meeting between the respective Chief Justices was the first of its kind in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Following that visit:

• Intrajudicial communications: FJA hosted a webinar on intrajudicial communications with members of the South African judiciary, sharing Canadian practices and mechanisms for intra-judicial communications through a dedicated private internet platform for judges.
• Impact of Artificial Intelligence on judicial proceedings: FJA provided information to the High Court on judicial responses in Canada and the US to the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence to court systems and operations.

In 1990 Mongolia abolished a totalitarian system of government, and began to move towards political pluralism, democratic values and the rule of law. This process accelerated with constitutional amendments in 2019 to increase judicial independence, followed by new laws in 2021 to strengthen judicial institutions.

Mongolia is now pursuing an ambitious program to modernize and reform its judicial system. Mongolia has looked to the international community for help in these efforts.

FJA engaged with Mongolia for two years, from 2022 to 2024 (the pilot phase and the first year of the full project). Initially, FJA undertook to provide technical assistance in the areas of judicial ethics and accountability, and judicial public communications and media relations. As the relationship between the Canadian and Mongolian judiciaries deepened, the Mongolian partners requested more assistance, and undertook their own initiatives inspired by and sometimes modeled on Canadian precedents. Key partners in Mongolia were the Judicial General Committee (JGC), which has broad supervisory jurisdiction over judicial affairs, and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee (JDC).

Some of the key results of TAP in Mongolia:

• Judicial Ethics: FJA helped Mongolia to develop a Code of Ethics for the judiciary and to create a judicial Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC). Once the EAC was established, FJA helped train its new members.
• Judicial Disciplinary Committee: With FJA support, the JDC produced a comprehensive public guide to its procedures and how to make a complaint. The JDC also formulated an internal policy document on crisis communications to allow staff to handle high-profile or unexpected issues.
• Media relations training: Canadian experts delivered an online training course on best practices on judicial outreach to the public and media relations. A total of 166 justice system personnel took the course, including judges, court officers, communications officers, IT officers and others.
• Training program for new Chief Justices: FJA assisted with development of a syllabus for a training course for new Chief Justices. Chief Justices in Mongolia are appointed for each court and have a three-year term; thus, there is an urgent need for regular training and orientation.
• First Mongolian Supreme Court Annual Report: After a Mongolian delegation visited the Supreme Court of Canada as part of a mission to Canada, Mongolia produced its own Supreme Court Annual Report, modeled on the Supreme Court of Canada Report.
• “Roadmap” to implementation of the Open Court principle: With TAP support, the JGC and Mongolian NGO Legal Innovations produced a “roadmap” for implementation of the “Open Court” principle in Mongolia. The Open Court principle featured prominently in presentations to Mongolians about the Canadian judicial system.
• Podcasts on judicial issues in Mongolia: Following the media relations trainings, members of the JGC and JDC recorded a total of four podcasts on the justice system. The podcasts covered the topics, “Is the court ‘open’?”, “Is the court ‘independent’?”, “Is the judge ‘responsible’?”, and “Court Development”. Thousands of people accessed the podcasts.
• Parliamentarians Guide to the Judicial System: With TAP support, our partners developed a guide to the judicial system for parliamentarians, emphasizing the principles of judicial independence and separation of powers. The JGC successfully negotiated with the Mongolian Elections Commission to use this document in orientation materials for new parliamentarians.
• Media Guide on Court coverage: Based on trainings and resources provided through TAP, the JGC produced a media guide on court coverage, a desk reference for aspiring court journalists, emphasizing the critical role of court journalism in maintaining the principles of a democratic and transparent judiciary.

In its fourteen years of existence, the National Gender Commission of the Judiciary of Colombia has been key to advancing gender equality within the judiciary. It has fostered the mainstreaming of gender into the work of the judicial branch, producing decisions that incorporate this perspective and influence human resource management processes and the knowledge of judicial officials within the Judiciary.

However, the vast territorial coverage of the Judicial Branch, the rotation of judicial officials and the socio-cultural influence of gender stereotypes on the attitudes and behaviours of public officials have proved challenging for the strengthening of gender equality.

FJA engaged with the National Gender Commission in the pilot phase of the TAP program (2022-23). This cooperation began with a high-level judicial delegation from Colombia visiting Canada to enhance the commission’s efforts in transforming judicial culture and securing uniform enforcement of gender equality policies and laws across the nation.

This was followed by two Canadian expert missions to Colombia and a series of webinars on topics including social context awareness for judges and court officials, indigenous justice issues in Canada, and strengthening judicial ethics and accountability. FJA supported the Colombian judiciary to do a gender self-assessment and provided gap analysis and recommendations for reform.

The most important project result was support for development of an Integrated Domestic Violence Court (IDVC), a specialized court which helps families dealing with a criminal domestic abuse charge and a family separation at the same time, engaging issues of support, custody and visitation etc. Canadian judges identified challenges, shared experiences, and emphasized the importance of continued collaboration to address issues such as gender-based violence and improve access to justice for all. The consultations underscored the need for ongoing collaboration, consultation, and careful examination of the Colombian legal framework to ensure the successful implementation of the IDVC model in the country.