Second Aspirant Judges Training Programme to commence next week
The Office of the Judiciary, under the auspices of the High Court of Namibia will host the second Aspirant Judges Training Programme (AJTP) from 12 to 30 November.
The training will be held at the Administration Head Quarters of the Office of the Judiciary in Windhoek West; Windhoek.
The programme was started by the Namibian Judiciary to meet its needs. “It is a little known fact that the Judiciary has for long experienced challenges in recruiting High Court Judges. It was generally assumed that the route to appointment to the High Court was via private practice, a notion rooted in our colonial past,” said Yvette Hüsselmann, Chief Public Relations at the Office of the Judiciary.
The AJTP is run by the Judiciary itself under the auspices of the High Court. However, the programme is in no way a promise that the participants will be appointed as Judges. Those candidates who demonstrate potential undergo mentoring to be considered for acting judges appointments at the High Court.
The maiden programme held during December 2015; saw the permanent appointment, Johanna Prinsloo as a Judge of the High Court of Namibia, who participated in the initial programme. The programme further saw the likes of Leezhel van Wyk and Philanda Christiaan being appointed as acting judges of the High Court.
“The programme’s primary focus is magistrates. Depending on the need we may enlarge in future. Until recently, we had been taking advantage of South Africa’s AJTP by sending some magistrates to South Africa. We found, however, that it did not meet our needs entirely as the two legal systems are increasingly becoming divergent. Locally, we have sufficient intellectual horsepower to mount tailor-made programmes that meet our needs,” Hüsselmann added.
