The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Judicial Studies Council (UKRIJSC)
Within the UK, the Judicial College is a member of the UKRIJSC. It meets once a year with the Judicial Studies Committee of Scotland, the Judicial Studies Board of Northern Ireland and the Judicial Studies Institute of the Republic of Ireland.
Meetings discuss matters of common concern, both domestically and internationally, and judges from each jurisdiction attend training events run by the others from time to time. The venue for each meeting rotates between the four countries.
The members make available to each other relevant training materials and share publications. The spirit of co-operation is high.
The European Judicial Training Network
Within the European Union, the Judicial College is an active participant in the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). The aim of EJTN is to help foster a common legal and judicial European culture, to develop the area of freedom, security and justice and to promote mutual recognition of judgments.
EJTN coordinates programmes in EU law across Europe. A large number of events are organised annually across Europe by training schools within the network and many of these are open to other members, a scheme known as the Catalogue Programme. Further, with the help of EU funding, Exchange Programmes are organised by the network which enable judges and judicial trainers from one country to experience the judicial/training system of another.
The Judicial College participates in both the Catalogue Programme and Exchange Programmes.
Other international training activities
The Judicial College also takes part in events organised by the International Organisation for Judicial Training (IOJT), a world-wide judicial body dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law in other countries and to helping other countries establish training schools which further such rule.
The Judicial College receives many requests for assistance from overseas, sometimes channelled through the British Council, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the International Division of the Ministry of Justice, and sometimes direct from overseas jurisdictions. The invitations range from a request to present a paper at a conference to assisting the jurisdiction by undertaking a scoping study and thereafter suggesting how a judicial training project can best be implemented.
Sometimes the work covers a discrete area. At other times it can extend to help in setting up a new training school from scratch or by delivering training to overseas judges in their own country.
In addition, the Judicial College regularly hosts international visitors from overseas jurisdictions. College seminars are sometimes attended by judges from overseas, as participants or observers.
