Strasbourg, 18 April 2016
CCPE-GT(2016)2
WORKING GROUP OF THE
CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN PROSECUTORS
(CCPE-GT)
Report of the 18th meeting
Strasbourg, 3 – 4 March 2016
Document prepared by the Secretariat
Directorate General I - Human Rights and Rule of Law
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Working Group of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE-GT) held its 18th meeting in Strasbourg on 3-4 March 2016. The meeting was chaired by Mr Cedric VISART de BOCARME (Belgium), President of the CCPE.
2. The agenda and the list of participants are reproduced in Appendices I and II respectively.
II. COMMUNICATION BY THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BUREAU AND WORKING GROUP OF THE CCPE
3. The President informed the members of the Working Group about his forthcoming participation in the Conference on the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child organised on 5-6 April 2016 in Sofia, within the framework of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe[1].
4. The President also informed about his forthcoming participation in the High-Level Conference of Ministers of Justice and representatives of the judiciary on “Strengthening judicial independence and impartiality as a pre-condition for the rule of law in Council of Europe member states” on 21-22 April 2016 in Sofia, also organised within the framework of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers[2].
5. The President went on to inform about the participation of the Bureau members in the process of drafting the report entitled “Challenges for judicial independence and impartiality in the member states of the Council of Europe” prepared jointly with the Bureau of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) at the initiative of the Secretary General. On 20 January 2016, the President, together with Mr Johannes Riedel, member of the CCJE Bureau, presented the report to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe[3].
6. On the basis of this report, as well as other documents, the Council of Europe would prepare and adopt a Plan of Action on strengthening judicial independence and impartiality which would be presented and discussed in the course of the above-mentioned conference on 21-22 April 2016 in Sofia.
7. The President also informed about his participation in the Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors on 11-15 September 2016 in Dublin[4].
III. PREPARATION OF THE OPINION NO. 11 ON THE QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY OF THE WORK OF PROSECUTORS, INCLUDING AS REGARDS THE FIGHT AGAINST ORGANISED CRIME AND TERRORISM
8. The President introduced to the Working Group the preliminary structure prepared by the Secretariat and reviewed by the Bureau for the draft Opinion No. 11 (document CCPE-GT(2016)1Prov) aiming to provide an overall outline for starting discussions on the topic.
9. The members of the Working Group made extensive remarks having noted that this Opinion would be unique in the sense that it would combine two very useful and timely topics: the quality of prosecutors’ work in general, as well as in the context of the fight against organised crime and terrorism which presented a special challenge requiring a consolidated approach.
10. As a result of discussions, the Working Group built on the preliminary structure and significantly developed it. The final structure approved by the Working Group (document CCPE-GT(2016)1REV1) included a lot of details related to various aspects of the quality of prosecutors’ work and in particular the fight against organised crime and terrorism, such as external environment including public policy, legal, economic and social context, constraints, relations with other actors; internal environment including management, organisation of prosecutors’ work, their recruitment, training, promotion and relocation; accountability of the prosecution services; codes of ethics and professional conduct; elements inherent in consideration of cases; quantitative and qualitative indicators of the work of prosecutors; methods of measuring the quality and efficiency; increase of transborder crimes such as organised crime and terrorism presenting new challenges at national as well as international level and requiring developing legal and organisational framework and reinforcing co-operation between all relevant actors; respect for human rights in the course of criminal proceedings.
11. The Working Group decided on the distribution of tasks among its members, each one volunteering for drafting of a specific chapter or sub-chapter:
· I. Introduction by Mr Cedric VISART de BOCARME and Secretariat
· II. Quality and efficiency factors of the work of prosecutors
· External environment by Ms Alessandra GIRALDI and Mr Ramazan KAYA
· Internal environment by Mr Peter POLT and Mr Harald RANGE
· Elements inherent in consideration of cases by Mr Peter McCORMICK and Mr Harald RANGE
· Quantitative indicators of the work of prosecutors by Mr Antonio VERCHER NOGUERA
· Qualitative indicators of the work of prosecutors by Mr Antonio VERCHER NOGUERA
· Methods of measuring the quality and efficiency of the work of prosecutors by Mr José Manuel SANTOS PAIS and Ms Elzbieta SIDWA
· III. Major current challenges for the quality and efficiency in fighting organised crime and terrorism
· Introduction by Mr Cedric VISART de BOCARME
· Fighting organised crime and terrorism at national level by Mr Jovan ILIEVSKI and Mr Ramazan KAYA
· Fighting organised crime and terrorism at international level by Mr Han MORAAL and Mr Antonio MURA
· Respect for human rights in the course of criminal proceedings by Mr Han MORAAL and Mr Antonio MURA and Ms Elzbieta SIDWA
12. As regards the timetable, it was decided to send, by 6 May 2016 or earlier, all contributions to the Secretariat which would prepare a consolidated version of the Opinion, having integrated all chapters and sub-chapters, for the consideration in the course of the next meeting.
IV. OTHER ITEMS
13. The next meeting of the Working Group would take place in Paris on 26-27 May 2016.
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 CCPE and the Secretariat / Communication du Président, des membres du CCPE et du Secrétariat
4. Preparation of the draft Opinion No. 11 on « the quality and efficiency of the work of prosecutors, including as regards the fight against organised crime and terrorism » / Préparation du projet de l’Avis No. 11 sur « la qualité et l’efficacité du travail des procureurs, y compris dans le domaine de la criminalité organisée et de la lutte contre le terrorisme »
5. Any other business / Divers
APPENDIX II
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
MEMBERS OF CCPE-GT / MEMBRES DU CCPE-GT
Mr Robert BIEVER, Procureur Général d'Etat, Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG
Excused / excusé
Mr Jovan ILIEVSKI, Head of the Department for Prosecuting Organised Crime and Corruption, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Skopje,THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA / L'EX-RÉPUBLIQUE YOUGOSLAVE DE MACÉDOINE
Mr Ramazan KAYA, Member of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey, Ankara, TURKEY / TURQUIE
Mr Antonio MURA, Head of Department for Justice Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Rome, Italy / Italie
Mr Peter POLT, Prosecutor General of Hungary, Budapest, HUNGARY / HONGRIE
Mr Harald RANGE, Karlsruhe, GERMANY / ALLEMAGNE
M. José Manuel SANTOS PAIS, Procureur-Général Adjoint à la Cour Constitutionnelle du Portugal, Lisbonne,PORTUGAL
Mme Elzbieta SIDWA, Procureur, Département de la Coopération Internationale, Parquet Général, Varsovie, POLAND / POLOGNE
Mr Antonio VERCHER NOGUERA, Deputy Attorney General, Madrid, Spain / Espagne
Mr Alexander Grigorievich ZVYAGINTSEV, Deputy Prosecutor General, Office of the Prosecutor General, Moscow, Russian Federation / Fédération de Russie
OTHER PARTICIPANTS / AUTRES PARTICIPANTS
Ms Sibel Demir SALDIRIM, Rapporteur Judge at the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey, Ankara, TURKEY / TURQUIE
Mr Zeki UYSAL, High Council of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey, Ankara, TURKEY / TURQUIE
Mr Vladimir P. ZIMIN, First Deputy Head, General Department of International Legal Cooperation, Office of the Prosecutor General, Moscow, Russian Federation / Fédération de Russie
MEMBERS OF CCPE-BU / MEMBRES DU CCPE-BU
Ms Alessandra GIRALDI, Assistant Deputy Director, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Copenhagen,DENMARK / DANEMARK - (Vice-President of CCPE / Vice-Président du CCPE)
Mr Peter McCORMICK, Prosecutor, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutors, Dublin, IRELAND / IRLANDE
Mr Han MORAAL, EUROJUST, The Hague,THE NETHERLANDS / LES PAYS-BAS
Mr Cedric VISART de BOCARME, magistrat fédéral au parquet fédéral belge, Bruxelles, BELGIUM / BELGIQUE - (President of CCPE / Président du CCPE)
COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S SECRETARIAT /
SECRETARIAT DU CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE
Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law /
Direction Générale des droits de l’homme et de l’état de droit
Division for the independence and efficiency of justice /
Division pour l’indépendance et l’efficacité de la justice
E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Stéphane LEYENBERGER, Head of Division / Chef de la Division, tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 34 12, e-mail: [email protected]
Mr Artashes MELIKYAN, Co-Secretary of the CCPE / Co-Secrétaire du CCPE, tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 47 60; e-mail: [email protected]
Ms Anna KHROMOVA, Assistant / Assistante, tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 48 39, e-mail: [email protected]
INTERPRETERS / INTERPRETES
Mr Christopher TYCZKA
Mr Grégoire DEVICTOR
Ms Bettina LUDEWIG