Judges hold retreat – share experiences in judgement writing and discuss the performance of the court
The High Court of Namibia together with the Commonwealth Secretariat conducted a Judges’ Continued Professional Development (CPD) retreat late last month in Swakopmund.
The Bangalore Principles on Judicial independence and Namibia’s Guidelines for Ethical Judicial Conduct, place a premium on the continuous professional development of judges.
Hon. Justice Petrus Damaseb, Judge President of the High Court said it is a matter of regret that judges’ CPD has not enjoyed priority in Namibia.
“I have therefore decided to hold a CPD retreat every year for the judges of the High Court commencing 2018 and this year’s training event was devoted to the consideration of judicial ethics in the context of judges’ conduct both inside and outside courts,” said Damaseb.
Additionally the judges used the retreat to share experiences in judgement writing and also discussed the performance of the court. The group discussed the problems which result in delays in the finalization of cases and ways in which the delivery of justice in the High Court can be improvised.
The group also touched on aspects of the Rules of Court and Practice Directives which have presented difficulties, and agreed on amendments to deal with the challenges identified.
