Training for other judicial roles

The role of the delegates of the public prosecutor is to implement alternative measures to criminal prosecution, as decided upon by the prosecutor’s office and at the request and under the supervision of the prosecutor’s office. After a probationary period of one year, delegates are accredited to perform their duties by the Public Prosecutor or the Chief Prosecutor, after an opinion from the general assembly of the judges and prosecutors of the court or court of appeal in question. They are citizens who may or may not be retired, who are approved to perform these duties by the general assembly of the judges and prosecutors, and are paid. The ENM offers a varied range of courses for delegates of the public prosecutor. Newly-appointed delegates, or those who have not yet undergone any training, can attend a one or two-day course consisting of theory and role play, which is designed to give them an overall grasp of their duties and their institutional and relational position in the court. More experienced delegates can also take a course in communication techniques. There are also places available for them on certain in-service training sessions organised for judges and prosecutors.

These are court officers who intervene in disputes between two individuals to try to bring them together and find an amicable solution, either without any judicial proceedings or within the framework of proceedings that are already underway. They work on an occasional and voluntary basis, and swear an oath before the President of the Court of Appeal. The ENM provides them with locally-based training, organised at the courts of appeal and given by duos of experienced conciliators, who have been trained as trainers. The training modules each last one day and mainly cover the status of the conciliator, professional ethics, the scope of their powers, negotiated settlements and questioning techniques (basic modules for newly appointed conciliators). Since 2012, a number of technical modules have been added covering specific topics such as housing leases, consumer rights or relations between neighbours. There are also places available for conciliators on certain in-service training sessions organised for professional judges and prosecutors and non-career judges.

Judges and prosecutors work on a daily basis with multiple partners, for whom the ENM is beginning to provide useful training for the exercise of their duties. The following groups can be trained alongside judges and prosecutors: students in "justice schools", legal professionals such as lawyers, commercial court clerks, judicial officers and notaries, but also gendarmes and police officers. Each year, doctors and journalists also have the opportunity to join courses given by the ENM.