CCJE-BU(2014)6

Strasbourg, 5 September 2014

BUREAU OF THE CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL

OF EUROPEAN JUDGES

(CCJE-BU)

Report of the 17th meeting

Berlin, 24 June 2014

Document prepared by the Secretariat

Directorate General I – Human Rights and Rule of Law

I.          INTRODUCTION

    1.        The Bureau of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) held its 17th meeting in Berlin on 24 June 2014, at the invitation of the German Federal Ministry of Justice. The meeting was chaired by Mr Bart van LIEROP (The Netherlands), President of the CCJE.

    2.        The following members of the Bureau were also present:

·         Mr Richard AIKENS (United Kingdom), Vice-President of the CCJE;

·         Ms Nina BETTETO (Slovenia);

·         Mr Johannes RIEDEL (Germany).

    3.        The agenda is set out in Appendix I.

II.         PREPARATION OF THE CCJE OPINION No. 17

    4.        The members of the Bureau and the Secretariat briefly discussed the preliminary draft Opinion No. 17 on justice, evaluation and independence (Document CCJE-GT(2014)4), initially prepared by Ms Anne SANDERS, scientific expert, then amended by Mr Richard AIKENS and subsequently commented and approved by the Bureau. The preliminary draft prepared for the Bureau and Working Group meetings included the latest comments made by the members of the Working Group with a view of their discussion and preparation of final draft.

    5.        The members of the Bureau stated their views as regards the forthcoming examination of the draft in the course of the 27th meeting of the Working Group (24-26 June 2014, Berlin) and co-ordination with the expert. They underlined the sensitive subject matter of this Opinion, and that the practices of evaluation of judges in different member States were quite different. The members of the Bureau noted that the prepared draft seemed to reflect all these practices in due way, however the contents of the draft and various formulations needed a careful discussion, which would be undertaken by the Working Group.

 

III.        SITUATION OF THE JUDICIARY AND JUDGES IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE (DISCUSSION ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND FOLLOW-UP BY THE CCJE)

 

    6.        The members of the Bureau and the Secretariat discussed the follow-up to the Situation Report on the judiciary and judges in the Council of Europe member States (updated version n° 1 (2013)) adopted during the 14th plenary meeting of the CCJE in Strasbourg on 13-15 November 2013. They underlined an encouraging feedback to this report since its adoption, in particular its importance for the concerned stakeholders.

    7.        The next edition of the report would be adopted in 2015, in line with the CCJE’s mandate to provide targeted cooperation at the request of member States, CCJE members, judicial bodies or relevant associations of judges. In the meanwhile, prior to the next edition of the Situation Report, the CCJE would prepare and update a brief report on the external activities of the CCJE, on a chronological basis, including responses to requests for legislative assistance which were being submitted to the CCJE at an increasing scale. All assessments, comments and recommendations made by the CCJE in this respect would continue to be made public in order to provide for the transparency of the CCJE work and contribute to dissemination of its standards as widely as possible.

    8.        The request for the legislative expertise from the Slovak member of the CCJE, dated 11 June 2014, regarding the recently approved amendment of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, was discussed. Taking into account the urgent nature of this request, emphasised by the Slovak member of the CCJE, the Bureau decided to prepare its expert assessment of the adopted amendment as soon as possible.

IV.       OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE CCJE

    9.        The Bureau briefly discussed the results of the Joint Meeting of the CCJE Bureau and Working Group with the Commission of the German Federation and Länder for the Analysis of Judicial Autonomy in Europe (Judicial System Commission) on 23 June 2014 in Berlin. There was an interesting exchange of experience and discussion on the issues of common interest related to the status of judges, their appointment or election, career and evaluation in the context of judicial independence. The Joint Meeting was particularly useful in the context of preparation of the Opinion No. 17.

  10.        Mr Bart van LIEROP reported on his participation in the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) in Rome on 11-13 June 2014. He mentioned that the ENCJ worked on several projects every year, for example on the project on the allocation of cases. The ENCJ developed flexible standards giving room to every system, and it also established a commission to think of the practical application of the documents which they adopt. This was also a topic for the CCJE, and Mr van LIEROP underlined that the visibility of the CCJE standards should be enhanced further.

  11.        Mr van LIEROP went on to inform of his work as an expert for the project on developing the capacity of the judiciary and judicial self-governance implemented by the Council of Europe in Georgia. He undertook, in June 2014, a fact-finding mission to Georgia to meet with the project stakeholders, and he would provide the Council of Europe with a contribution to the inception report of the project, as well as further advice on its implementation.

  12.        Mr van LIEROP also mentioned his missions to: 1) Sofia, Bulgaria, to attend the conference organised by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice within the framework of Norway Grants on the subject of judicial integrity on 1-2 April 2014; 2) Florence, Italy, to attend the conference on the judicial co-operation techniques organised by the European University Institute and the Italian Centre for Judicial Co-operation on 9-10 May 2014; 3) Wustrau, Germany, to attend the conference on the independence of the judiciary from a European perspective at the German Judicial Academy on 21-23 May 2014.

  13.        He also emphasised the CCJE’s readiness to step in the projects on the court management implemented in Tunisia and Morocco by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ).

  14.        Ms Nina BETTETO reported on her work as an expert for the project on strengthening the capacity of the judiciary as regards the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights implemented by the Council of Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After her mission and meetings with the key stakeholders, she was in process of drafting a report on the evaluation criteria for judges in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council envisaged very formal quantitative criteria for such evaluation.

V.        OTHER BUSINESS

  15.        The CCJE received an invitation from Lady Justice Arden, Head of International Judicial Relations for England and Wales of the Royal Courts of Justice in London, to host the 16th plenary meeting of the CCJE in London in the autumn of 2015, the year that marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. The members of the Bureau reacted very positively to this invitation, which would further be considered by the Council of Europe.

  16.        Mr van LIEROP also mentioned the expected invitation from the Norwegian Courts Administration to host the meeting of the CCJE Working Group in June 2015 in Norway. The members of the Bureau also reacted very positively to this initiative. The Secretariat stated that upon the receipt of the official invitation, it would further be considered by the Council of Europe.

APPENDIX I

AGENDA / ORDRE DU JOUR

           

1.    Opening of the meeting / Ouverture de la réunion

2.    Adoption of the agenda / Adoption de l’ordre du jour

3.    Communication by the President, members of the Bureau and the Secretariat / Communication du Président, des membres du Bureau et du Secrétariat

4.      Preparation of the 27th meeting of the CCJE-GT and the draft Opinion No. 17 on « justice, evaluation and independence » / Préparation de la 27ème réunion du CCJE-GT et du projet d’Avis n° 17 sur « justice, évaluation et indépendance »

5.      Situation of the judiciary and judges in the member States of the Council of Europe (discussion on recent developments and follow-up by the CCJE) / Situation du pouvoir judiciaire et des juges dans les Etats membres du Conseil de l’Europe (discussion sur les développements récents et le suivi par le CCJE)

6.      Other work of the CCJE / Autres travaux du CCJE

Participation du CCJE à d’autres réunions au Conseil de l’Europe ou en dehors

7.    Any other business / Divers