International Collaboration

In its international work, the National Judicial Institute (NJI) seeks to strengthen the rule of law through judicial education and judicial reform. International development and the attainment of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are often stalled by the effects of weak or fragile governance and rule of law. Through strengthening judicial institutions, progress can be made towards poverty alleviation and development.

Judicial education is an integral companion to effective and sustainable judicial reform. Working closely with partners in Canada and in developing countries, the NJI, through its International Cooperation Group (ICG) responds to requests for judicial expertise from around the world. The NJI’s contribution focuses on capacity building of judicial education institutions, the design and delivery of judicial education projects and other initiatives in judicial reform where the Institute has a comparative advantage. NJI has undertaken multi-year judicial reform work in a long list of countries as diverse as Australia, Chile, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Peru, Rwanda, Russia and Scotland, among others.

The involvement of the Canadian judiciary in international work is grounded in its reputation for being socially aware, ethical and progressive. Canada’s bilingual and bijural legal system reflects its multicultural society, and has provided Canadian judges with the ideal background for collaborating with their counterparts around the world.