About time and judges: How do magistrates face the question of quickness, efficiency and delays?

This paper will present a research in progress which aims to study the organisation of courts and the changes in the work of magistrates. More precisely it describes the different ways in which judges and prosecutors face the question of quickness, efficiency and delays in the different fields of judicial activity.
Justice is usually seen as an institution in which judges take time in order to decide on cases – and is frequently criticized for being slow and inefficient. However, we now witness a rapid change: the management of cases, as well as the pressures exerted by media and political actors have profoundly affected the operations of courts. In all matters, civil as well as criminal, the main concern is now to give quick answers to every situation submitted to the court. As the time given to the treatment of each case decreases, one can ask what is the impact on the way cases are dealt with and the effect on the work of judges.
The study presented will compare this issue of time and judging using the data collected in five courts in two countries, Belgium and France.