International experience showed judicial education was an effective way of supporting transformation, the University of Cape Town’s Law Race and Gender Research Institute said in a submission to the judges’ probe into racism and sexism.
However it warned that dealing with transformation and diversity in a one-off way was seldom effective and could be seen as window dressing.
”A single intervention can give participants an introductory view of the problems and would alert people to the complexity of diversity issues.
”However, it leaves participants with little idea of how to change their behaviour or how to deal with new issues as they arise.
”Time is needed to discuss the myriad issues that arise in relation to transformation and diversity, to reflect on the problems and to meet to discuss solutions to problems.”
Training on diversity and change needed to be firmly located in the context in which people worked and be focused on the particular concerns of the sector, in this case, the judiciary.
It was important for judges to understand the full context in which cases arose.
Training on specific areas of law, or on judgement writing, for instance, needed to pay attention to the social context in which matters arose and the demands of transformation.
The institute also said judicial training was most successful when it was driven primarily by judges, and also warned that it worked best when people participated because they were committed to solving problems, developing appropriate leadership skills and promoting change. – Sapa