THE PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF CLERKS
According to the former law of judicial organization, Law No. 92/1992, the recruitment and training of the clerks was ensured by the Courts of Appeal and by the Prosecutor’s Offices attached to the Courts of Appeal, in a decentralized manner.
The idea of establishing an institution to ensure centralized recruitment and unitary training of the clerks took shape in 1999 when, through GD No. 423/1999, the Training Centre for Clerks and for the Other Specialized Auxiliary Personnel was established, which, through GD No. 985/2000, received legal personality. These two normative acts are basically the birth certificate of The National School of Clerks.
As a natural evolution, along with the reform of the judicial establishment in 2004, through Law No. 567/2004 regarding the status of the specialized auxiliary personnel within the Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices attached to them and of the personnel working within The National Institute of Forensic Expertise, the Training Centre for Clerks and for the Other Specialized Auxiliary Personnel became The National School of Clerks.
The National School of Clerks is a public institution, with legal personality, under the coordination of the Superior Council of Magistracy, which performs the initial as well as the continuous training of the clerks and of other specialized auxiliary personnel of the Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices attached to them, according to the law.
The National School of Clerks is financed by the State budget, through the budget of The Superior Council of Magistracy, according to the law.
The activity of The National School of Clerks comprises two main components:
The National School of Clerks is not part of The National educational system and it is not subject to the legal provisions regarding the accreditation of the educational institutions and the recognition of diplomas.
- Recruitment and initial training of future clerks
- Continuous training of the clerks in office.
In addition to these components, The School aims to create and strengthen a network of trainers recruited among judges, prosecutors, clerks or other specialists.
At the same time, The School is internationally recognized as the main trainer of the specialized auxiliary personnel within the Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices, having attended numerous international projects with similar institutions from other states. The headquarters of The National School of Clerks has been, since its establishment, in Bucharest, in the same building where the headquarters of The National Institute of Magistracy is located. The School also operates in the Training Centre in Bârlad, which is under its administration. The continuous professional training has been carried out, throughout the time, in centers such as Bârlad, Giroc, Cheia, Vatra Dornei, Constanța, Iași, Sovata, Amara, Orșova, but also at the headquarters of the Courts of Appeal and Prosecutor’s Offices attached to them.
THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF CLERKS
The mission of The National School of Clerks comprises two components: the initial training of the future clerks and the continuous training of the clerks in office. Together with these components, The School aims to create and strengthen a network of trainers recruited among the judges, the prosecutors, the clerks or among other specialists.
The initial training program of the future clerks aims for the students to assimilate the concepts of law, necessary for carrying out their duties/tasks within the Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices, as well the development of specific skills and abilities.
The training program is focused on debates and/or practical applications related to subjects such as: civil procedure (proceedings before the court of first instance, proceedings in appeal, foreclosure procedure, family and minor protection cases), criminal procedure (criminal investigation, criminal proceedings before the court, enforcement of the criminal judgement), international judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, deontology, clerk’s activity management, applied informatics, typing, civil law, criminal law, Human rights, EU law, non-legal professional skills. In addition to these, there are conferences regarding present areas of interest (Romanian Language, the career as a clerk, classified information, communication and public relations, forensic expertise) as well as the internship within the Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices in Bucharest.
Following the adoption of the Law no. 567/2004, graduating The National School of Clerks becomes the main method to access the profession of clerk. According to the same normative act, the initial training provided by The National School of Clerks will be held differently for the clerks with higher legal education (six months training program), for the clerks with other higher specialized studies and for the clerks with secondary studies (in this case, the duration of the courses being of one year).
It is for The National School of Clerks to also undertake the initial training of the archiving clerks and of the documentary clerks recruited by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, by the Courts of Appeal and by the Prosecutor’s Offices attached to the Courts of Appeal, by organizing a 2 months specialization internship, within the Courts and the Prosecutor’s Offices.
The component of the continuous training of the clerks, fulfilled by The National School of Clerks, is important considering that the increase of the public’s confidence in justice and the defense of its prestige can be sustained only by increasing the individual quality of the act of justice, the permanent training of the clerks at a high level being fundamental for the swiftness of judicial proceedings and for the defense of the rights of the parties.
In this context, the Law no. 567/2004 regarding the status of the specialized auxiliary personnel of the Courts and of the Prosecutor’s Offices attached to them and of the personnel working within The National Institute of Forensic Expertise, as amended, stipulates the obligation, for this category of personnel, to participate at least once every 5 years to a form of continuous professional training, organized by The National School of Clerks. The continuous training is conducted in the form of seminars, training sessions, including courses held within the distance learning program, conferences, study visits, training courses abroad, aimed at updating and consolidating the legal knowledge and the practical skills relevant to the profession of clerk, constantly considering the legislative changes and the evolution of the profession of clerk. The seminars are organized both at the Headquarters of The School and in the regional centers for professional development.
