European day of Justice in Slovenia

Date : 24th and 25th of October 2018

Place: Ljubljana, Court Palace

Website that is free and contains some information on going to court in Slovenia also in English, Hungarian and Italian

Type of event : On the 24th of October the presentation of the Procedural fairness project will take place. The project took almost a year of work and it involved different groups of stakeholders: judges, court staff, lawyers, state attorneys, prosecutors, experts, translators, notaries, media, etc. They all took part in workshops, where we analysed the problems the judiciary has with court users and how these problems could be solved. The results of the project and tools to improve the knowledge of the general public about court procedures will be presented to people who took part in workshops and to authors of the brochures and the website.

On the 25th of October the pilot courts will receive information brochures on different types of court procedures, a map of Ljubljana court premises and the web page nasodiscu.si (in-court-you-are) will go live.

Description of the event : The Procedural fairness project is a comprehensive project that was produced by the Slovenian judiciary in collaboration with a communication company, academics, judges and court staff. We have analysed the communication system of courts and the problems they have with users through different qualitative research methods - observational research in courts, netnography (research on the web on information people seek on court procedures, blogs, social media), extensive interviews with court users with actual court experience, more than a dozen workshops with more than 70 participants. Based on all the research we have produced a guide on future activities which would help improve the quality of justice, deliver better information and help to raise the trust in the judiciary. In line with the goal of getting the judicial system closer to citizens a vast array of different products was prepared in clear and understandable language: 

- 13 brochures on the most common types of court procedures (explaining in a visual way how these procedures evolve, what are the steps, who is involved, how long they last on average, useful tips, etc.), on the role and rights of witnesses, victims, free legal aid,

- a general brochure on the court system (types of courts, court procedures, who is who in court, how does a hearing look like, etc.)

- two animations (for witnesses and on the court system in general)

- a completely new website explainig court procedures, rights of people involved, real-life examples, duration, costs, etc.

- a manual for a future renewal on signalisation within court premises

- a manual on how to improve the understandability of court writings with design and with simplified language, focusing on the user

- a map of all court locations in the capital Ljubljana together with practical information on how to communicate with courts and what to expect.

The whole project put the user of the justice system in focus - how they see court procedures, what do they understand or do  not understand, how to improve this communication. All the products have the aim of getting the juducial system closer to users, so the gap between expectations and actual experience is as small as possible and sufficient information is provided. The project was run in line with service design principles.