Tonga's Chief Justice Hon. Anthony Ford is traveling to New York to receive the World Bank Reformer of Year Award 2007, there on June 4.

The award is given to an organisation, institution or country that has been successful in turning around its operation for the betterment of its service delivery or business investments.

The Supreme Court of Tonga won the top award by striking out close to 100 percent of dormant or inactive cases, placing others on a strict timetable, introducing mediation, and increasing the jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court, and all this was achieved in just more than a year.

The selection was based on a survey conducted by the World Bank and published in its "Doing Business" report of 178 economies and ranking them for the quality of the services that they offer.

This is the first time the award has been granted to a court anywhere in the World.

Chief Justice Ford in his report on the Electronic Case Management and Mediation and the Drastic Improvement for the Courts in Tonga, said the implementation of the reforms came at a time when the Tonga courts have never been busier.

Tonga had approximately 500 extra criminal cases arising out of the riots of November 16, 2006.

Reform

Chief Justice Ford said after he was named Chief Justice in September 2006, the Minister of Justice told him that Cabinet had been discussing the World Bank's "Doing Business Report" and were not happy about Tonga's low rating of 126 out of 175 countries.

At this time minimal level of computerization was hampering commercial litigation and in the Supreme Court, the country's highest civil jurisdiction, computers were not made available to staff until 2002, and there was no computer training.

Mr Justice Ford contacted the Australia Federal Court in Sydney, and agreed on an appropriate protocol. Australia then provided new computers and the Federal Court provided on spot training.

Through computerization the courts were able to detect scores of dormant cases, where no action had been taken by any of the parties for at least two years.

The Chief Justice ordered under the rules in relation to time requirements to strike out all cases where no action had been taken for two years. And any such proceeding would be reinstated if the plaintiff complained about the lack of the 28-day notice.

In the end, 518 actions were struck out, with 10 being reinstated upon request from the plaintiff - with 508 files remaining.

Mediation

Chief Justice Ford said toward the end of 2006 he redrafted the Supreme Court Rules to include a provision for mediation.

He said mediation was virtually unheard of in Tonga at the start of 2007 but it had grown into a recognised form of alternative dispute resolution.

"It helped us free court resources. Since the first mediation hearing, there have been another 10, with eight resulting in out-of-court settlements," he said.

International award

The main sponsors for the event are the World Bank Group, General Electric and USAid. Additional sponsors are the JPMorgan, the New York Stock Exchange, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) and the Trade Associations for the Emerging Markets (EMJA).

The event offers an opportunity for Tonga to present their success to an international investor audience and the global business media, and create enthusiasm about investment opportunities in their countries.