Details

Train the Trainer seminar in Amman: Soft skills for practising judges, focussing on questioning techniques

Published: March 27, 2018
Experts and participants in the seminar
Experts and participants in the seminar

On 26 and 27 March 2018, the IRZ and the Judicial Institute of Jordan (JIJ) organised a seminar on “Soft skills for practising judges, focussing on questioning techniques”. The seminar took place as part of a Transformation partnership project supported by the German Foreign Office, which began at the end of 2017.

The IRZ has maintained a trusting cooperation with the Judicial Institute of Jordan for more than ten years now. The main focus of the curriculum for this seminar was on teaching methodology and educational content and the JIJ plans to address this topic in more detail during its ongoing cooperation with the IRZ.

The seminar was attended by Jordanian judges and public prosecutors, who have several years’ experience as trainers at educational events held by the Judicial Institute of Jordan. The seminar was led by speakers participating on behalf of the IRZ, Dr. Arnd Weishaupt (a judge at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf) and Uwe Stark (a judge at the local court of Siegen). Both experts are Train the Trainer specialists and are accredited trainers with many years of teaching experience in various IRZ partner countries worldwide.

The following areas of expertise were addressed during the two-day seminar in Amman:

  • Susceptibility to errors in witness statements,
  • Limitations of perception skills,
  • indications of facts in statements,
  • recognising lies,
  • questioning and interrogation techniques for witnesses and the accused and
  • the basics of appraising evidence in criminal proceedings.

The event followed an interactive approach throughout. This meant that the seminar was taught using numerous examples, experiments and role plays. All the participants took part with great interest and enthusiasm and so they were all able to make an active contribution to the success of the event.

Subsequent feedback from the participants and from the Judicial Institute of Jordan was also very positive.