The Council of Europe has rewarded the Norwegian Court Administration the 2017 Crystal Scales of Justice prize for its initiative “Witness Service in Norwegian courts”.
The Prize, which rewards innovative judicial practices in the European judicial institutions, was given on the occasion of the flagship event of the European Day of Justice, organised in Edinburgh in the presence of Georg Stawa, President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and the jury of the competition composed of eminent personalities from the judicial world.
The project is the result of a national agreement between the Norwegian Court Administration and the Norwegian Red Cross. Through this initiative, Red cross volunteers support witnesses in judicial proceedings. Volunteers are trained and work in pairs with mentors before they fully assume this responsibility. This assistance reinforces the trust of witnesses, and consequently, the quality of their testimony. The establishment of this service also demonstrates a social responsibility of judicial administrations.
Three special mentions have been awarded by equal merit to the following three projects:
- Court Pulse - The Management Revolution, by the Judicial-Legal Council and Institute of Law and Human Rights/Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan
- Educational Programme “Judiciary – Informed choice and public confidence. Open Courts and Prosecutors’ Offices”, by the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Bulgaria
- Migrantes – Courts of Catania and discharging appeals against the action taken by the Territorial Commissions for International Protection, by the Court of Catania, Italy
- Photo galleries: Facebook / site internet CEPEJ
