Czech Republic - Judicial Academy - EJTN

The Judicial Academy (JA) was established in 2002 by Act No. 6/2002 Coll. as the central institution of the judiciary for the training of judges, prosecutors and other target groups. Since taking over the Judicial School in 2005, the JA has been a unique state institution in the Czech Republic responsible for initial and continuous training of all target groups of the Czech judiciary. The seat of the Czech Judicial Academy is in Kroměříž. JA has training and accommodation facilities in Kroměříž and training facilities in Prague and 7 other cities. The main activities of the Judicial Academy include:

• Initial training of judicial candidates and legal trainees;
• Continuous training of judges and prosecutors;
• Initial and continuous training of middle professional staff of courts and public prosecutor’s offices;
• Continuous training of management of courts and public prosecutor’s offices;
• Training in cooperation with national partner institutions (e.g. Czech Bar Association; Association of Judges, Association of Prosecutors, Chamber of Court Appointed Interpreters and Translators);
• Training in cooperation with European partner training institutions;
• Cooperation in selection procedures for the positions of judicial candidates and judges, etc.

Training is provided in accordance with the regular annual training programme, which is drawn up on the basis of an analysis of training needs in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the courts and the public prosecutor’s offices. The training focuses on national law, EU law, legal skills and soft skills. It takes the form of lectures, seminars, workshops, debates, moot courts, mock trials, etc., using all available interactive and innovative approaches and modern teaching methods.

JA has many bilateral contacts within and outside Europe. It has been an active member of the European Judicial Training Network since 2004. JA is experienced in coordinating large national and European projects (e.g. E-learning Education for Judiciary (2007-2011; project no. CZ0056), or Training Needs Analysis and Creating of Training System for Professional Staff of Courts and State Prosecutions (2011-2013, project no. 7F-07532.01), or Improvement of Access to Justice for Vulnerable Groups (2020 – 2024, project no. LP-PDP6-001); the Czech Judicial Academy also participates as a partner in bilateral and multilateral projects aimed at training in various aspects of EU law.

Detailed information on training events and all activities of the Judicial Academy can be found on the JA website (http://www.jacz.cz/) or in the Judicial Academy registration platform (http://asja.jacz.cz).