Court specialization is commonlyconsidered to be an important reform initiative to advancethe development of a successful judicial system. Courtspecialization is thought useful even to address broaderdevelopment constraints, such as the need for more effectiveaccess to contract enforcement, improvements in theinvestment climate, or more adequate protection of theenvironment. These studies have also pointed to somedrawbacks, however. For example, special attention to, andthe allocation of additional resources for, handlingbusiness cases can lead to the perception that a courtprovides preferential services to the business community butnot the average person. Judges may also develop too close arelationship with a particular group of lawyers and interestgroups that are involved in special case types, especiallyif those groups are relatively small and if judges serve inthis special capacity exclusively and for an extendedperiod. This report outlines the international experiencesand good practices related to establishing specializedcourts and creating the associated judicial expertise. Itspecifically highlights the information that is needed todetermine if specialization is required in particular areas,as well as the specialization model that may be mostappropriate, the requirements of the different models, andthe approaches to training and selecting judges for specialassignments. The paper also outlines the next steps ajurisdiction might take to examine the potential need anddemand for further specialized judicial services and toconsider what would be needed to meet those which are justified.
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