Public relations-Public Trust and Confidence in the Courts

1. Public relations-Public Trust and Confidence in the Courts

2. Important factors • The accessibility of the courts and the court staff for parties and people giving evidence • The courts’ reception of parties and people giving evidence • Processing times at the courts • The transparency of the courts’ decision-making processes • The formulation of judgements and decisions • The way in which activities of the courts are portrayed by the media • The knowledge of the general public about what goes on in the courts • The conduct of judges

3. Measures for improving the reception of parties and people giving evidence • Guidelines for what parties and people giving evidence have reason to expect and the demands that can be placed on the staff of courts with regard to the person-to-person reception. • All courts should offer the same accessibility with regard to telephone and office hours and contacts by email. • Information to parties and people giving evidence about what goes on in the court and what is expected of them available. • The reception of people appearing at court is to improve and in the larger courts, there should be special service staff. • All the staff at courts are to be trained with regard to reception issues.

4. Measures to improve the formulation of judgements and decisions • Regulations on the formal and graphic design of judgements and decisions. • Recommendations for how judgements and decisions should be formulated with regard to readability and judicial argumentation. • All court lawyers are to be trained in issues concerning the formulation of judgements and decisions.

5. Vigorous measures to improve the courts’ contacts with the media • Judges are primarily to manage contacts with the media concerning the cases and matters for which they are responsible. • Heads of courts are to contribute to creating an atmosphere of openness at courts and a willingness to provide information to the media. • Media judges are to be available at the courts where there is a need for such a judge. • A media groupof media judges acting as a body for the regular exchange of experience. • The National Courts Administration is to have overall responsibility for training judges in media issues. • A Press Service at the National Courts Administration is to act as a starting point for journalists and others who have questions about activities in the courts • A Spokesperson for the Swedish courts who can represent the courts and provide information about the activities of the courts.

6. Other measures to strengthen trust in the courts • Better websites • Parties access to information on their very own cases • Electronic case management • Routines to cover the information on blogs, communities • Greater openness • Visits of school classes • Open house visits to the court