Litigants expect our judicial systems to be effective and credible. Only these qualities will ensure that litigants have confidence in the system of justice.

In order for the justice that is rendered to be credible for litigants, the courts must rule on their disputes within a reasonable time, which also presupposes that litigants do not routinely file frivolous appeals.

The justice thus rendered must above all be of the highest quality and, to the extent warranted by law, provide satisfaction to the injured party.

It is also important for our judicial systems to render decisions that are enforceable, i.e., decisions that litigants have the means to enforce.

Moreover, it is only when we have credible and effective judicial systems that these systems will succeed in convincing parties to negotiate settlements and to use alternative methods of dispute resolution.

Our morning session will focus on the following four topics:

• Effectiveness of the justice system: access to justice and timely decisions
• Credibility of the justice system: access to evidence, quality of decisions, transparency, access to case law
• Execution of court decisions: can court decisions be enforced effectively?
• Is there sufficient inducement to negotiate and to resolve disputes amicably?