Comparative Perspectives on the Office of Chief Justice

A comparative study of the duties & activities of Chief Justices indicates that there is considerable variability in the approach of Chief Justices to such things as judicial administration, oversight, & representation. Information was obtained from an informal survey of Chief Justices from 27 countries who were attending a June 2003 Conference of Chief Justices of Asia & the Pacific. Special attention is given to three key aspects of global judicial education: information transmission, training, & peer exchange. The survey responses indicated that Chief Justices encounter similar challenges & share common purposes; however, there are substantial differences in the extent of their authority over lower court judges; the time they spend on court administration; the frequency with which they announce policy decisions; & the degree to which they interact personally with the media.

The importance of the information for the globalization of judicial education is discussed. It is concluded that global education programs benefit more from a peer-exchange approach than a training approach. Appendixes.

J. Lindroth