The consulting services offered by the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) in the area of digitisation of the judiciary are being steadily expanded for partner countries in Africa. This is the context in which the IRZ, together with the justice ministries of Morocco and Algeria, held an online regional conference on 24 May 2022 on the subjects of “Digitisation of the Judiciary, Electronic Legal Transactions and Data Protection”. The event represents the continuation of previous successful cooperation with Morocco.
The focus was on the legal and organisational bases for the expansion of e-justice, practical aspects of electronic exchanging of legal documents, remote proceedings and digital witness examination, as well as the (security-related) technical challenges of digital judiciary with regard to compliance with standards for data protection and data security.
Around 80 people in total from Morocco and Algeria joined in, highlighting the great interest in this hot topic.
From the German side the following experts took part:
Philipp Scholz, Federal Ministry of Justice, Head of Department D B 3 - Legal Tech and Access to the Law
Nadine Borutta, judicial employee of the Central IT Service Provider for the Judiciary (ITSP) of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
The partner countries Morocco and Algeria were represented by:
Mustafa Ait Laraik, Ministry of Justice of Morocco, Head of the Department for International Cooperation
Mohamed Attou, Ministry of Justice of Algeria, Head of the Judiciary’s Training and Information Unit
Mustafa Moudjadj, Ministry of Justice of Algeria, Head of the Planning and Organisation Unit
Halima Katir, Expert at the Ministry of Justice of Morocco
For the ministries of justice of Morocco and Algeria, the expansion of digitisation of the judiciary is a priority in their current judicial reform projects. The objectives of the digitisation measures are to increase the efficiency of the judiciary and improve access to it for those seeking legal recourse. In Algeria’s case this aspect is particularly important due to the great distances within the country.
In both states big steps have been made in recent years in setting up the technical infrastructure and in networking the courts and authorities, as well as in the practical implementation of electronic legal transactions. The online services already offered in both countries in the area of the judiciary (for example when requesting documents) are widely used by citizens. However, in individual areas an adjustment of the relevant legal bases is still necessary, for example with regard to carrying out virtual hearings.
Also of particular interest for the participants were issues related to data protection and data security in electronic legal transactions (for example verifying e-signatures), as well as practical experience of the use of legal tech-tools in everyday legal work.
In cooperation with the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), on 25 February 2021 IRZ coordinated an online seminar on the “Training of trainers – the humane treatment of prisoners in Moroccan prisons”. The event was part of the “Cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco on Prison Management” project, which is being supported by the German Foreign Office. Dr. Angelika Burghardt-Kühne, a psychologist, and Dr. Stefan Tydecks, a psychologist at the Moabit prison, reported on experiences from the German penal system. Abdelmajid Azzouzi and Bachar Chbichou, both of whom are training leaders at the National Prisons Training Academy in Tiflet, presented experiences from Morocco.
The main themes of this event held in the Training of Trainer format were the teaching of human rights in training and the protection of those rights in prisons. The experts reported on teaching methods and training techniques, their inclusion in handbooks, and preparations for release in the context of the pandemic.
The DGAPR established the National Training Academy of the Moroccan prison service in Tiflet in order to improve the teaching of human rights during training. Role plays and simulations are a key tool in helping trainees to deal with particularly problematic practical cases. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prison authorities in Morocco and Germany are mainly holding interviews online and are reducing the size of training courses. Unlike in Germany, Morocco is mainly relying on online seminars for training purposes and is suspending some practical exercises in a sporting context.
Considerable efforts are being made in both countries to guarantee human rights for prisoners during their prison sentences and as they prepare for release, despite the difficult conditions during the pandemic. Visits from lawyers and family members are still taking place with respect for social distancing rules and wearing masks. In Morocco, the majority of court cases and judgements are already taking place online. Attempts are being made in Germany to replace most of the bureaucratic procedures involved in release from prison with video conferences.
On 24 November 2020, IRZ, together with the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), organised an online seminar on the “Management of prison staff by the DGAPR”. The event was part of the “Cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco on Prison Management” project, which is being supported by the German Foreign Office. IRZ is coordinating this project between 2017 and September 2021.
Denise Steinküller, Permanent Representative of the Head of the Prison Service Academy for NRW, reported on experiences from the German penal system. Salah Hamza, Head of Department at the National Training Centre in Tiflet, and Aaouatif Zouahri, Head of the HR Department at DGAPR headquarters, provided the Moroccan perspective.
The main topics covered by the seminar were the methods for teaching communication skills to prison staff and strategies for increasing motivation. As a result of ongoing reforms, Morocco is modernising its basic training facilities on a large scale. Both countries have also reorganised the way training takes place due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In Morocco, for example, large sections of the practical training sessions take place outdoors, and in both countries group sizes within the training years have been reduced.
The DGAPR selects its training staff based on their extensive practical experience and good service records. Before taking up their teaching positions, they have taken training courses and gained further theoretical knowledge of teaching methods. In Germany, the majority of training staff also have extensive experience of working in the prison system. It is nevertheless increasingly difficult to find suitable staff.
Both Germany and Morocco see good communications as a central part of achieving the objectives of prison detention and are focussing on teaching the necessary communication skills as part of their training programmes. Particular attention is paid to practical involvement in this area. Specific further training courses are available for dealing and communicating with dangerous prisoners.
The challenge remains in both countries to increase the motivation of prison staff. The DGAPR is therefore offering programmes giving staff the possibility of qualifying for management positions. IRZ and the DGAPR are planning more in-depth events on the subjects covered by these programmes for 2021.
