The CEELI Institute initiated the African Judicial Exchange Network (AJN) in 2021, modeled on a similar initiative the Institute has been facilitating in Central and Eastern Europe since 2012. At the time of writing, the AJN includes judges from 11 Anglophone African countries: Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Case management is vital for efficient justice delivery. While addressing this complex challenge requires substantial resources and political commitment, individual judges can adopt measures to enhance case management and reduce backlogs. These guidelines, drafted with input from network countries and international partners, target judges and policy developers, such as judicial councils, court presidents, and associations. They cover principles of effective case management, preparation, timing, prioritization, decision-making, and collaboration. The annexes provide tools and best practices from various courts. The CEELI Institute and network judges drew on diverse international sources in developing these guidelines.

These guidelines are made available, free of charge, to any interested judges and judiciaries in the region and beyond, in the hope they will find them a useful and practical tool.