The Guide for inspection criteria was adopted as part of resolution number 46 of the Plenary Session of the GCJ of 20nd December 2012, as an instrument of homogenisation and direction of inspection activity of courts and tribunals, with its essential substance being as follows:

Planning

To regulate the planning of inspection activities, through: 

• A General Plan which needs to be prepared by the Plenary Session of the General Council of the Judiciary
• An Annual Inspection Plan that includes the priorities and criteria for intervention
• Work Programmes which three times a year are prepared by the Chief of the Inspection Service and which include the performance of the Inspection Service and the courts to be visited in each period.

Type of inspections

• On-site: Involve the visit of the inspection team to the court.These can be of three types:
  • General: Involving an exhaustive analysis of the court’s overall activity.
  • Abbreviated: it supposes a succinct analysis of the global activity of the organ.
  • On Knowledge: Covers specific aspects of the court’s activity.
• Virtual: These are made remotely from the Service itself, with the inspection team using the options provided by computer applications.

Inspection Teams

The inspection teams will consist of at least one Magistrate and one Clerk. However, the inspection activity, because of its nature, can be performed by a single member of the Inspection Unit. It is possible to form inspection teams with members from different Units, formed according to the criteria established in each case by the Head Office of the Service.

On-Site Visits

To be announced to the court being inspected approximately forty days in advance, as well as to the authorities and entities listed in the guide, taking into account the scope and jurisdiction of the Court or Tribunal.

Gathering of Information

Information is requested from the court being inspected and we proceed to gather all the relevant information which has been made available at the Council in the past four years or since the last on-site inspection, preparing a preliminary assessment.

Ordinary On-Site Inspection

At the headquarters of the court being inspected interviews will be conducted with the management team, staff and external agents as well as, where appropriate, with other office holders from the district.

We will also proceed to:

1. Review the selected procedures.

2. Access the management procedure application to check data.

3. Analyse the workload and resolutive activity load.

4. Examine the adequacy of staffing, its organisation, the distribution of work, schedule compliance, degree of collaboration, working environment, etc.

5. Check material resources: buildings, furniture, management, etc.

6. Analyse the computer systems and their performance, suitability and effectiveness in management procedure.

7. Financial books and accounts.

8. Compliance with the constitutional principles of the process. 

9. Technical supervision and control of work.

10. The relationship with citizens and professionals and compliance with the Charter of Citizens Rights in the Courts. 

11. The quality of public service provided

Assessment of Inspection Activity

The Department of Planning and Analysis of Judicial Activity of the GCJ sends questionnaires to the court being inspected regarding the quality of the handling of the inspection to which it has been subjected.

Preparation of Report

After each inspection a report is prepared to:

• Truthfully reveal the state of the court;
• Monitor compliance with the indicators regarding entrance and resolution.
• Assist in the improvement of the court, through analysis of its shortcomings and the identification of proposals for improvement.

In this, proposals will be made to the court being inspected and the competent government agencies, which are considered necessary for the improvement of the public service, whose execution is monitored by the Inspection Service.

On-Siteinspection abbreviated

This type of visits will carry  to effect concerning organs whose data appear normalised and have not been visited never or in the last five years by the Service of Inspection.

 The  preparation expands , extending the application of information to determinate susceptible appearances of remote inspection, with the end to limit the examination of files during the visit and abbreviate the same, making possible that the Unit Inspector can also visit other Courts of the demarcation or next and obtain an overview.

 On-Siteinspection of knowledge

The information to collect to the judicial organ with previous character, the field of the On-Siteperformance and the report that elaborate  will limit  to the concrete object to the that have circumscribed  the inspection.

Virtual Inspection

At least twice a year, the Inspection Unit assesses the information in the possession of the Council concerning the courts assigned to it in order to verify its correct operation or, where applicable, the malfunctions that may arise.

If significant abnormalities are detected, a report is taken by telephone from the management team at the court and, simultaneously, if applicable, it will be required to justify in writing the circumstances that may be present.

When the malfunction can be corrected using the court’s own resources, the presentation of a work plan or proposal for the solution will be requested, including the time frame for its completion.

From the control activity deployed a report is prepared which reflects the conclusions and proposals to be adopted with regard to all the organs that require it.

Report

The Inspection Service Report shall include, on the basis of the analysis from the inspections performed and information on the progress of motions and proposals, an overall assessment of the state of the courts of the territories or jurisdictional systems whose courts have been inspected. This assessment shall state, from the perspective of the Service, the improvements produced and the major problems to be faced in the future.