On 6 and 7 April 2019, the IRZ, in partnership with the Jordanian Court of Cassation, organised a regional conference on “Courts of Cassation and their contribution to the standardisation of case law, with particular consideration paid to the implementation of international guidelines.” Attending the conference were judges from the Jordanian Court of Cassation and from other judicial authorities, as well as judges from the Tunisian and Moroccan Courts of Cassation.
This event took place as part of a Transformation Partnership Project on judicial training as a stabilising element of the rule of law in Jordan, which is being supported by the German Foreign Office and coordinated by the IRZ between 2017 and 2019.
The seminar was opened by the Vice-President of the Jordanian Court of Cassation, Judge Mohamed Ajarmeh, who in his opening speech pointed out the significance of European and international legal structures and their adoption in Jordan.
Prof. Dr. Lutz Strohn and Holger Rothfuß, both of whom are former judges at the German Federal Court of Justice, were appointed by the IRZ to take part in the conference as German experts. Professor Strohn focussed on explaining issues of civil law, including the collaboration between European courts and German supreme courts. Holger Rothfuß emphasised the prominent role of Courts of Cassation in the further development and standardisation of case law and also explained specific procedural matters concerning the activity of the German Federal Court of Justice.
Representatives of the Courts of Cassation of Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia reported on the current practices of their courts and, during panel discussions, discussed the particular importance of the courts when it comes to resolving contradictions in case law, the further development of the law and the resulting legal transparency.
The lively, animated discussions about the various judicial systems and the relationship between national and international law showed that the subject was perceived to be particularly important by the participants from all partner states.
In cooperation with the Judicial Institute of Jordan, an advanced seminar was held on “Methodology and teaching for practising judges” in Amman on 8 and 9 April 2019. The participants in the seminar were judges, who themselves lead training seminars at the Judicial Institute of Jordan.
The event was held to continue and advance on the work which began at the seminar organised in January 2019. The two-day seminar was led by Dr. Arnd Weishaupt, a judge at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, and Uwe Stark, a judge at the Local Court of Siegen, both of whom are long-standing experts in training trainers and disseminators in the legal field.
The focus of the seminar was on applying the knowledge gained during the basic course to some practical exercises. The seminar was designed to be very practice-oriented and interactive, with participants not only being able to reflect on what they had already learned, but also to put this into practice with their own presentations on topics they had chosen themselves. Video recordings of the presentations given by the participants allowed them to analyse the lectures more precisely, look at the positive as well as negative aspects and discuss these in more detail during the plenary session. Other ways of planning lessons, typical mistakes when using media and dealing with disturbances during seminars were also presented.
Both the foundation seminar and the advanced seminar provided plenty of momentum and examples for teaching a legal subject. In view of the participants’ contributions and discussions, it is clear that they really concentrated on the subject and will actively include the tools they have learned for successfully leading seminars in their courses.
The close partnership with the Judicial Institute of Jordan has continued for ten years now. Both parties aim to continue this partnership in future, as expressed by the Director of the Judicial Institute of Jordan, judge Ihsan Barakat, in her opening speech.
This seminar took place as part of a transformation partnership project on judicial training as a stabilising element of the rule of law in Jordan, which is being supported by the German Foreign Office and coordinated by the IRZ between 2017 and 2019.
On 8 and 9 January 2019, the IRZ, in partnership with the Judicial Institute of Jordan, organised a seminar on “Methodology and teaching for practising judges”, in which judges from various courts in Amman and the surrounding area took part.
The event was opened by the Director of the Judicial Institute of Jordan, judge Ihsan Barakat. The participants in the seminar and the seminar leaders then introduced themselves.
As German experts, Dr. Arnd Weishaupt, a judge at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, and Uwe Stark, a judge at the Local Court of Siegen, led the seminar. Both are long-standing experts in training trainers in the legal field.
The speakers from the Jordanian side were Dr. Abdulrahman Tawfiq, a former judge at the Court of Cassation and a legal advisor, and Dr. Khaled Al-Sama'a, a judge at the Appeals Court in Amman. Both Jordanian experts gave lectures on training concepts in the field of civil and criminal law.
During the two-day event, the practical issues involved in organising seminars were discussed from the Jordanian and German points of view. The main focus of the seminar was on the following topics:
Providing the right methodological and didactic instruments for carrying out a successful seminar,
the basics of adult learning behaviour,
selecting the subject matter,
presentation techniques,
significance of body language,
methods for motivating participants and
methods for enhancing the outcome of learning.
All these aspects were dealt with in detail and with the help of various case studies. The lively discussions following on from the lectures were mainly about how the results could be usefully exploited for judicial training in Jordan.
The IRZ has enjoyed a close working relationship with the Judicial Institute of Jordan for 10 years now and both sides want to continue this partnership in future.
This seminar took place as part of a Transformation Partnership project on judicial training as a stabilising element of the law in Jordan, which is being supported by the German Foreign Office and coordinated by the IRZ between 2017 and 2019.
