Key activities

• The Board approves the revised Draft Finance and Human Resources Policy and Procedures Manual which provides guidance for accountability of staff regarding their professional responsibilities by the end of March 2017.

• The reviewed Code of Conduct is included in the Draft Human Resources Manual sent to the Board for approval and publicized by the end of March 2017.

• Internal auditing and monitoring systems for the Commission in line with best international practice are identified and installed by the end of June 2017.

• The Succession Plan in the Draft Human Resources Manual is reviewed and is approved by the Board by the end of March 2017.

• The Legal Aid Policy Guidelines amended in line with the 20162020 Strategic Plan and Functional Review are submitted to the Board for approval by the end of 2017.

• The Legal Aid Policy Guidelines are amended in accordance with best practice to allow awards of costs in favor of successful legal aid clients in civil matters to be ceded to the Commission, and enable the Commission to recover a certain percentage commission on the damages awarded to civil legal aid clients, by the end of 2017.

• Requesting the Board to reinstate the merits test to be applied on a case-by-case basis by the end of 2017.

• A comprehensive Legal Aid Guide is compiled by the end of 2017.

• The Commission begins to engage in Study Visits and hosts an International Legal Aid Conference for the South Pacific by the end of 2018.

• Partnerships are entered into with development partners to support and promote access to justice - ongoing.

• The Commission or another stakeholders’ convenes a Justice Stakeholders’ Forum where all the stakeholders in the administration of criminal justice such as the police, prosecutors, judicial officers, prison officials and the Commission meet to discuss matters of mutual interest to promote access to justice, by the mid-2017.

Measure of achievement

The measure of achievement for good governance and professionalism will be by an independent assessment to determine the total number and what percentage of the administrative structures, procedures and governance are in line with best international practice to be conducted at the commencement, mid-term and end of the Strategic Planning period.