Escuela Judicial Consejo General del Poder Judicial

The Judicial School of the General Council of the Judiciary is in charge of the organisation of the public examination for the selection of judges, of their initial, complementary and further training (not those of the public prosecutors), and also, but not exclusively, of international co-operation concerning the training of judges.

The Judicial School is under the General Council of the Judiciary. As a constitutional body, the General Council of the Judiciary received, by the law 16/94 of 8 November, the responsibility for the selection and training of judges. The seat of direction and initial training is in Barcelona. The school also has an establishment in Madrid for continuation training.

The educational and budgetary choices are discussed and decided by an advisory body whose president is the President of the General Council of the Judiciary and also by the Judicial School Commission. The School is directed by a judge.

Judges and university professors are in charge of the management and the teaching.

A special feature of the Judicial School is to have full-time teachers, who are either judges (11) or university professors (three) whose job is to teach lessons to the trainees (future magistrates who have already passed a public examination), with a practical approach and using the case method. Many outside participants, such as judges, lawyers and experts intervene in the School throughout the year.

Every year, the school trains near 250 new judges whose initial training lasts 24 months, and more than 3,500 judges participate in an activity of continuing training. Two-hundred-and-twenty judges from South America have received training in the Judicial School, in periods of three weeks, three months or a whole year.

The School employs 70 people.

Its budget for 2000 was 3,200 million pesetas.

Contact:

Escuela Judicial Consejo General del Poder Judicial
Ctra Vallvidrera 43-45
08017 Barcelona

Tel: +34 93 406 7300/7301
Fax: +34 93 406 9264
Website: www.poderjudicial.es

Centro de Estudios Jurídicos (CEJ)

The Centre for Legal Studies (CEJ) is a national autonomous body within the Ministry of Justice, regulated by its own rules approved by RD 1276/2003.

The CEJ is the Spanish institution in charge of the training of most bodies of the justice administration, except judges. Namely, CEJ provides training activities to public prosecutors, court clerks, state lawyers, forensic surgeons and some other public servants involved in the justice administration (i.e. assistant staff).

In order to improve their competences and skills in their work, the CEJ offers seminars, conferences, scholarships, study visits, language courses, training projects and publications.

Two basic lines of work are developed: initial training and ongoing training. The initial training courses are part of the recruitment of public prosecutors, court clerks and forensic surgeons.

Its activities are guided by an annual work programme which contents its priorities is prepared in association with different actor and stake holders.

The CEJ does not have full-time teachers. The teaching is given mainly by public prosecutors, court clerks, state lawyers, forensic surgeons, and judges but also by university teachers, usually with a practical approach.The Trainees are chosen by public call for proposal each year.

As an autonomous body, the Centre has its own legal capacity, its own budgetary capacity and it can develop the activities it consider more interesting for the students it is in charge of, such as establishing relationships and cooperation with similar institutions of another countries, Universities and Colleges and professional associations.

The Centre also carries out a decentralized training plan, and develops international co-operation in the field of judicial training, not only in Europe but also in South America (as a member of the RECAMPI network, among others) and with Africa.

To carry out its duties the Centre has two directive organs, a Council and a Director. The President of the Council is the Minister of Justice. The Director is appointed and dismissed by proposal of the Minister of Justice, and he is the legal representative of the Centre. The current Director is Alfredo Ramos Sánchez, prosecutor.

In 2007, the budget of the Centre in the year rose to 13,927,487.96 €. The CEJ employs 52 people. In 2007, the total amount of courses increased to 721, with 7,964 participants, which are distributed, according to gender, 3,978 men and 3,986 women.

The Centre is located at the University campus in Madrid.
For further information go to www.cej.justicia.es

Contacts:
Centro de Estudios Jurídicos
Ministerio de Justicia
Juan del Rosal, 2, 28071 Madrid
Tel.: +34 91 455 16 71
Fax: +34 91 549 62 77
Website: http://www.cej.justicia.es