Project “Strengthening Public Trust in the Judiciary”

Project objective is to increase the efficiency of court operations and strengthen public trust in the judiciary by improving client service, enhancing the clarity and accessibility of court-related information.

Project results:

• A Court Client Service Model was developed. During implementation: an assessment of the current situation in court client service was conducted, including two "mystery shopper" studies involving 120 court visits and 520 phone calls to evaluate the quality of service; the Court Client Service Standard was updated and published, setting unified requirements for service delivery across courts; a sample methodology for monitoring and evaluating service quality in courts was developed; training sessions titled “Quality Client Service in Courts” and “Leadership and Change Management” were held, with 300 judiciary representatives trained.
• A study on the application of standards for the quality of judicial decisions was conducted, resulting in key recommendations: best practices from Finland, the Netherlands, and Hungary were analyzed; a sample concept was proposed for monitoring and evaluating the quality of judicial decisions, including criteria and procedures; recommendations for applying and improving judicial decision standards were developed; two study visits were organized to Finland and the Netherlands, with five judiciary representatives participating; a training course on “Application of Judicial Decision Quality Standards” was held, training 100 judges and judicial assistants.
• A set of measures was developed and implemented to strengthen public trust in the judiciary: a public survey on trust in the courts was conducted; a judicial communication audit was performed; a study visit to the Netherlands was held, where four judiciary staff explored principles of internal communication and organizational culture in courts; a judicial communication potential study was prepared;
• Two public communication campaigns were implemented: “Resolve Your Dispute Peacefully” – featured judicial mediation simulations in five Lithuanian cities and 16 media publications; “The Room of Justice” – an escape room-style public engagement tool that toured five cities, supported by 23 media articles. Training sessions were held on “Internal Communication and Organizational Culture”, “Media Relations and Effective Cooperation”, and “The Role of the Judge in Society: How to Build Public Trust in the Judiciary?”, training 190 judiciary representatives.

Project implementation period: September 2017 – September 2019.

Funding: 2014–2020 European Union Funds Investment Operational Programme, Priority 10 “Public Governance that Meets the Needs of Society and Promotes Progress”, Measure “Increasing the Efficiency of the Justice System”.

Project value: EUR 374 184.36.