Strasbourg, 11 December 2015

CEPEJ(2015)14

EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE

(CEPEJ)

2016 - 2017 Activity Programme of the CEPEJ

1.             The Committee of Ministers has entrusted the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (hereafter “CEPEJ”) with the mission of working with member States to promote effective implementation of Council of Europe instruments concerning the organisation of justice systems, ensuring that public policies in judicial matters take the users of the justice system into account and helping to disencumber the European Court of Human Rights by offering member States effective solutions prior to legal proceedings, preventing violations of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

2.             Under Article 2 of its Statute, contained in the Committee of Ministers’ Resolution Res(2002)12, the CEPEJ is required to:

§  examine the results achieved by the different judicial systems, using common statistical criteria and means of evaluation;

§  analyse problems and areas for possible improvements, and

§  identify concrete ways of improving the evaluation and functioning of member States’ judicial systems, regard being had to the specific needs of each State.

3.             The “independence and efficiency of justice” remains among the core priorities of the Organisation. This programme is part of the "Rule of Law" pillar of the 2016-2017 programme of the Council of Europe. This text constitutes the general basis of the various tasks assigned to the CEPEJ.

4.                This programme is designed around six areas of responsibility vested in the CEPEJ :

§  developing tools for analysing the functioning of justice and ensuring that public policies of justice are geared towards greater efficiency and quality,

§  obtaining an in-depth knowledge of the timeframes of proceedings for reaching optimum and foreseeable judicial time,

§  promoting quality of judicial systems and courts,

§  developing targeted co-operation at the request of one or more States,

§  strengthening relations with users of the justice system, as well as national and international bodies,

§  promoting among the stakeholders in the member States the implementation of the measures and the use of the tools designed by the CEPEJ.

5.             It includes co-operation programmes (including Joint programmes with the European Union) for promoting the concrete implementation of CEPEJ methodology and tools by justice decision-makers and in courts, as CEPEJ’s own activities. Such activities offer a genuine added value in the field of justice to the member States and non-member States seeking for closer co-operation with the Council of Europe.

6.             Where appropriate, the activities will be carried out in co-operation with the relevant Council of Europe committees, as well as the observers to the CEPEJ.

7.             The programme of activities is implemented according to available budgetary resources (ordinary budget and other budgetary resources), under the CEPEJ’s overall authority, in accordance with the responsibilities laid down in Resolution Res(2002)12. Within its responsibilities, the CEPEJ Bureau prepares the ground for this work and puts forward guidelines.

General responsibilities of CEPEJ	Specific objectives	Tasks	Means
Developing tools for analysing the functioning of justice and ensuring that public policies of justice are geared towards greater efficiency and quality	To have a detailed knowledge of European judicial systems and the evolution of the day-to-day functioning of the court system, in order to facilitate the reform process in the member States and beyond	Implementation of the 2014 – 2016 evaluation cycle in the member States and volunteer observer States, including new way of presenting findings and data Improvement of the quality of data in specific member States Preparation and adoption of the evaluation report of judicial systems (Edition 2016), the specific report (topic to be selected by the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL) and the electronic presentation of data Promotion of the 2016 evaluation report	5 meetings of CEPEJ-GT-EVAL 1 meetings of the Network of national correspondents for preparing the report The meeting could also take the form of ad hoc visits of a delegation CEPEJ-GT-EVAL / Secretariat in some member States (5 maximum) where difficulties have been highlighted on the data provided. 1 meeting of the Network of national correspondents for preparing the 2016 - 2018 evaluation cycle Participation of CEPEJ's representatives in various fora to introduce the 2016 report Technical adaptation of the electronic questionnaire Peer evaluation visits (6 maximum)  (with 3 experts) 4 plenary meetings of CEPEJ Voluntary contributions of the volunteer observer States Specific co-operation programmes in collaboration with other partners (including EU)
		In-depth analysis of the 2016 Report to draw conclusions and recommendations on several topical issues for the efficiency and quality of justice
		Launching of the 2016 – 2018 evaluation cycle: adaptation of the electronic Scheme, information of the national correspondents
		Implementation of the peer review co-operation process on judicial statistics
		Evaluation of the functioning of judicial systems in non-member States partners, from the CEPEJ methodology
	To strengthen mutual confidence between the justice systems of EU member States, including as regards the efficiency and quality of the systems	Co-operation with the European Union to provide information needed for the annual production of its "Justice scoreboard": preparation of an annual  report on the situation of judicial systems in the EU member States, based on the CEPEJ methodology for evaluating judicial systems	Funding by the EC (200.000 €/year) – this funding is ensured until 31 March 2017 5 meetings of CEPEJ-GT-EVAL Participation of CEPEJ's  members, experts and Secretariat in EU meetings Participation of EU bodies (EC, Council, EP) in CEPEJ's meetings, in particular GT-EVAL
Having an in-depth knowledge of the timeframes of proceedings for reaching optimum and foreseeable judicial time	To develop tools for supporting the courts in achieving optimum and foreseeable judicial timeframes	Implementation of the  "strategic plan for the SATURN Centre" acting as a permanent Observatory of lengths of proceedings: - data collection, continuous improvement of data collected, analysis of data collected, - adoption of guidelines and standards relating to judicial timeframes, - dissemination of the standards and information relating to judicial timeframes, - active promotion of the use of judicial time management tools, - support to the implementation by the courts of judicial time management tools	4 meetings of the Steering group of the SATURN Centre 3 to 4 scientific experts Co-operation with the Network of pilot courts Co-operation with the ECrtHR Registry Co-operation with CEPEJ-GT-EVAL and CEPEJ-GT-QUAL 4 plenary meetings of CEPEJ
	To promote the implementation of the  SATURN tools and guidelines within courts	Implementation of the court coaching programme on judicial time management in volunteer European courts Implementation of tailor-made large scale programmes for supporting the implementation of SATURN tools in a large number of courts	Support to the volunteer courts for organising the programme (including translation of relevant documents); scientific experts made available to the volunteer courts; reports provided by the courts Co-operation with the Network of pilot courts Specific co-operation programmes in co-operation with other partners (namely EU) in member States (namely Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Republic of Moldova) Kosovo[1] and States from the south neighbourhood (namely Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan) including in particular: -     evaluation of the situation of case flow management in courts, -     expert support to pilot courts, -     training of judicial staff (including training of trainers) -     participation of the partners in the CEPEJ multilateral activities
Promoting quality of judicial systems and courts	To measure the perception that users have of their judicial system	Implementation of the court coaching programme for measuring the users' satisfaction as regards the public service provided by European courts Analysis of the information collected through satisfaction surveys Implementation of tailor-made programmes to promote court users satisfaction surveys in a large number of courts	Support to the volunteer  courts for organising the programme (including translation of relevant documents); scientific experts made available to the volunteer courts for organising the surveys and analysing the results; reports provided by the courts Co-operation with the Network of pilot courts Specific co-operation programmes in co-operation with other partners (namely EU) to support the implementation of court users satisfaction surveys and the analysis of the subsequent results
	To develop indicators to assess the quality of the court work	Fine-tuning and testing in courts of indicators enabling to assess the quality of the court work	1 meeting of CEPEJ-GT-QUAL + co-operation between GT-QUAL, GT-EVAL and SATURN Co-operation with the Network of Pilot courts 1 plenary meeting of CEPEJ
	To improve the implementation of Article 13 ECHR on effective remedies	Recommendations regarding structural measures prior to the introduction of effective remedies	2 meetings of CEPEJ-GT-QUAL Scientific expert 2 plenary meetings of CEPEJ
	To strengthen the use of ICT in the functioning of judicial systems	Preparation of guidelines enabling to conduct the change towards cyber-justice	2 meetings of CEPEJ-GT-QUAL Scientific expert 2 plenary meetings of CEPEJ
	To strengthen the use of mediation within the judicial system	Strengthening the existing documents aimed at facilitating the implementation of the Council of Europe’s recommendations in the field of mediation	2 meetings of CEPEJ-GT-MED 1 scientific expert 2 plenary meetings of CEPEJ
Developing targeted co-operation at the request of one or more States	To provide guidance for improving the organisation of judicial systems and courts in some member and partner States	Use of CEPEJ methodology and tools in implementing Council of Europe co-operation programmes for judicial reforms Answer to punctual requests by member and observer States regarding the organisation of their judicial systems Strengthening the pool of CEPEJ experts prepared to participate in co-operation activities	CEPEJ members and experts participating in Council of Europe co-operation activities 3 training sessions for CEPEJ experts 2 working meetings of CEPEJ experts
Strengthening relations with users of the justice system and with national and international bodies	To bring the justice system closer to the European citizens	Organisation by the Council of Europe of the European Day of Justice (annual)	Annual promotion of the European Day of Justice to national institutions and organisation of the flagship event (October 25) Call for nominations for the Crystal Scales of Justice, organisation of the jury, jury meeting (9 members), awards ceremony Website
		Organisation by the Council of Europe of the European Prize: “Crystal Scales of Justice” (biennial)
	To contribute to the debate and provide a forum for the legal community	Provision of specific CEPEJ expertise to other Council of Europe bodies Provision of CEPEJ’s specific expertise to the European Union Provision of specific expertise to a wider legal public CEPEJ acting as a clearing house for best practices as regards court management	Participation of CEPEJ’s representatives in the work of the CDCJ and the Venice Commission on justice and in relevant meetings of the CCJE, CCPE, CDPC and CDDH Participation of CEPEJ’s representatives in the EU Justice Forum and in working groups Development of the CEPEJ web site
	To promote relations with other national and international bodies competent in the field of justice	Active participation of CEPEJ members and experts in the implementation of the Council of Europe co-operation programmes for judicial reforms Support to academic research Provision to member States and the European legal community of wide-ranging information on the operation of justice in Europe Development by CEPEJ representatives and the Secretariat of regular dialogue with national authorities, other relevant Council of Europe’s bodies and committees the European Commission and other international bodies	CEPEJ members and experts participating in Council of Europe co-operation activities Support for theses of a European nature concerning the organisation of justice Continue developing the CEPEJ web site and the CEPEJ Newsletter CEPEJ presence on social networks CEPEJ’s Representation in other fora Lisbon Network
Promoting the implementation of the measures and the use of the tools designed by the CEPEJ	To ensure a good knowledge of the CEPEJ’s measures and tools by the stakeholders in the central administrations and among the justice professionals	Active participation of CEPEJ members and experts in the implementation of the Council of Europe co-operation programmes for judicial reforms Translation of CEPEJ’s documents in non-official languages Dissemination of CEPEJ’s documents among justice professionals and in judicial training institutions Awareness raising within the ministries of justice and other relevant political bodies (parliaments, …) Evaluation of the impact of CEPEJ’s documents	CEPEJ members and experts participating in Council of Europe co-operation activities "Organisation of "Gatherings around CEPEJ" in member States to introduce and discuss CEPEJ tools Continue developing the CEPEJ web site and the CEPEJ Newsletter CEPEJ presence on social networks Lisbon Network

Appendix I

1.         Tasks

In accordance with article 7.2.b of Appendix 1 to Resolution Res(2002)12, and under the authority of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the Working Group on evaluation of judicial systems (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL) is instructed to implement the common tool set up by the CEPEJ which aims at evaluating in an objective manner the functioning of the judicial systems in Europe.

In order to fulfil its tasks, the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL shall in particular:

a.       determine and follow the implementation of the 2014 – 2016 evaluation cycle of the European judicial systems, including the national judicial data collection and processing and prepare the draft evaluation report to be forwarded to the 27th plenary meeting of the CEPEJ;

 

b.       organise ad hoc visits to certain member States where lacuna have been noted in data provided;

c.       develop a new way of presenting the results and data, by completing the presentation of key data by a specific thematic report and an electronic presentation of relevant data;

d.       ensure the proper information and communication regarding the Edition 2016 of the Report and assess the impact of the Report in the member States;

e.       make proposals for appropriate exploitation of the results achieved through the evaluation exercise (Report “European judicial systems – Edition 2016”), in particular as regards the development and the use of the main court performance indicators (namely the clearance rate and the disposition time), identify trends as well as typical dysfunctions of the judicial systems in Europe;

f.        initiate, follow and approve studies using the report “European judicial systems – Edition 2016”, with a view to publishing them in the Series “CEPEJ Studies”;

g.       organise the 2016 – 2018 cycle for evaluating European judicial systems, by advising in due time the national correspondents, organising the concrete modalities for data collection and processing as well as anticipating the structure and the outline of the next Report so as to guide the data processing;

h.       coordinate and supervise the drafting of the CEPEJ’s Study supporting the annual publication of the “EU Justice Scoreboard”, consisting in collecting and analysing data on the functioning of the judicial systems of the EU Member States, following the established CEPEJ methodology;

i.         organise the implementation of the pilot peer review co-operation process on judicial statistics, analyse the conclusions of this process and, where appropriate, make recommendations aiming to:

-           support member States in improving the quality of their judicial statistics and developing their statistics system,

-           facilitate the exchange of experiences between national judicial statistics systems,

-           sharing good practices, identifying benchmarks and facilitating knowledge transfer,

-           contribute to ensuring the transparency and accountability of the CEPEJ process for evaluating European judicial systems and to improving the process;

j.         promote the CEPEJ Guidelines on judicial statistics (GOJUST) in the member States, in particular among the national correspondents, so as to strengthen the collection of homogenous data in view of the next evaluation cycles;

k.       contribute to the implementation of the relevant co-operation programmes;

l.         set up and develop, in co-operation with the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL and the Steering group of the SATURN Centre, tools and indicators for measuring the performance of justice systems and courts while safeguarding the principle of the independence of justice.

2.         Composition

The CEPEJ-GT-EVAL shall be composed of 6 members of the CEPEJ or experts, proposed by member States and appointed by the CEPEJ Bureau, with an in-depth knowledge in the field of the evaluation of judicial systems. Their travel and subsistence expenses are to be borne by the budget of the Council of Europe. Other experts appointed by the member States might participate in its work, at their own expenses.

The relevant Council of Europe and European Union bodies may be represented to the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses.

The non-governmental organisations granted observer status with the CEPEJ may be invited by the Bureau to participate in the work of the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL, on a case-by-case basis, if the Bureau considers their attendance relevant for the quality of the work.

3.         Working structures and methods

The CEPEJ-GT-EVAL will organise 5 meetings and evaluation visits can be organised in some member States (subject to budgetary availability).

In carrying out its terms of reference, it may in particular seek the advice of the Network of national correspondents entrusted with the coordination of the answers to the evaluation Scheme.

It will also coordinate its work with other relevant CEPEJ's working groups (namely the Steering Group of the SATURN Centre and CEPEJ-GT-QUAL)

It may also seek the advice of external experts and have recourse to studies by consultants.

4.         Duration

These terms of reference expire on 31 December 2017.

Appendix II

1.         Tasks

The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice acts as a Centre for judicial time management (SATURN^[2] Centre) aimed at collecting specific information necessary for achieving a sufficiently detailed knowledge of judicial timeframes in the member States enabling them to implement policies aiming to prevent violations of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time as protected by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Centre shall in particular:

a.                as a European Observatory of judicial timeframes, analyse the quantitative and qualitative situation regarding time management in European courts (case-flow management, timeframes per types of cases, waiting times within proceedings, etc.);

b.              provide member States with tools for knowledge and analysis of case-flows, backlogs and timeframes of judicial proceedings;

c.                  promote and assess the implementation in the member States and ensure the updating of the SATURN Guidelines for judicial time management and other relevant CEPEJ's tools;

d.      contribute to the implementation of the relevant co-operation programmes.

The Centre is managed through a Steering group, established in accordance with article 7.2.b of Appendix 1 to Resolution Res(2002)12, under the authority of the CEPEJ.

In order to implement the "Strategic plan for the SATURN Centre" (CEPEJ-SATURN(2011)5), the Steering group shall in particular:

·         periodically collect data on procedural times in member States at national and regional level, for all types of proceedings (civil, criminal and administrative) and for all courts (first instance, appeal and supreme courts);

·         verify the completeness and quality of the data collected in order to make improvements;

·         analyse the data collected and collate them with the principles relating to procedural times derived from the case law of the European Court of Human Rights;

·         define guidelines and standards relating to procedural times:

-     for all state organs concerned with justice: legislators, bodies vested with the administration of justice, court managers, judges, prosecutors, police officers;

-     for all types of proceedings (civil, criminal and administrative);

-     for all courts (first instance, appeal and supreme courts);

·         disseminate in member States the guidelines, the standards and the results of analysis of the data collected;

§  promote the use of judicial time management tools, particularly those developed by the SATURN Centre, in all member States to enable them to make their own analysis of the situation regarding judicial timeframes in their courts and apply their own remedies to any excessive procedural delays;

§  undertake within the member States most concerned by questions of procedural delays, and with their agreement, targeted actions to improve their situation (preventive or proactive measures) by implementing judicial time management tools in those countries;

·         rely on appropriate networks allowing the integration in the work and considerations of the judicial community, in particular on the network of pilot courts within the member States, to draw on innovative projects aimed at reducing and adjusting the timeframes operated by courts in member States;

·         organise and implement the court coaching programme (on a volunteer basis) for the effective use of the CEPEJ's tools and guidelines, on the basis of the relevant SATURN Handbook (CEPEJ-SATURN(2011)9).

2.         Composition

The Steering group shall be composed of 6 members of the CEPEJ or experts, proposed by member States and appointed by the CEPEJ Bureau, with an in-depth knowledge in the field of judicial timeframes. Their travel and subsistence expenses will be borne by the budget of the Council of Europe. Other experts appointed by the member States might participate in its work, at their own expenses.

The relevant Council of Europe and European Union bodies may be represented on the Steering group without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses.

The non-governmental organisations granted observer status with the CEPEJ may be invited by the Bureau to participate in the work of the Steering group, on a case-by-case basis, if the Bureau considers their attendance relevant for the quality of the work.

3.         Working structures and methods

The Centre will hold 4 meetings (subject to budgetary availability).

In carrying out its terms of reference, the Steering group shall cooperate with the CEPEJ Network of Pilot courts. It will also coordinate its work with other relevant CEPEJ's working groups (namely the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL and the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL).

It may also seek the advice of external experts and have recourse to studies by consultants.

4.         Duration

These terms of reference expire on 31 December 2017.

Appendix III

1.         Tasks

In accordance with article 7.2.b of Appendix 1 to Resolution Res(2002)12, and under the authority of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the Working Group on quality of justice (CEPEJ-GT-QUAL) is instructed to develop means of analysis and evaluation of the work carried out within the courts with a view to improving, in the member States, the quality of the public service delivered by the justice system, in particular vis-à-vis the expectations of the justice practitioners and users, according to performance and efficiency criteria meeting a large consensus.

In order to fulfil its tasks, the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL shall in particular, while observing the principle of independence of judges:

a.            improve tools, indicators and means for measuring the quality of judicial work and the way in which this service is perceived by the users;

b.            draft concrete solutions for policy makers and for courts to improve the organisation of the court system, in particular as regards access to courts and effective remedies (Article 13 ECHR);

c.            provide guidance on how to conduct the evolution of judicial systems towards cyber-justice;

d.            draft concrete solutions for policy makers and for courts, allowing to remedy dysfunctions in the judicial activity and balance the obligations of the work of judges and its workload with the obligation to provide users with a justice of quality;

e.            promote among courts the effective implementation of the Handbook for court users satisfaction surveys and analyse the results of such surveys and organise and implement the subsequent court coaching programme (on a volunteer basis);

f.             develop other measures and tools enabling to improve the quality of the public service of justice implemented by the member States, taking into account, in particular, theChecklist for promoting the quality of justice and the courts (CEPEJ(2008)2);

g.            promote the proper translation and dissemination of the CEPEJ's relevant tools and measures;

h.            contribute to the implementation of the relevant co-operation programmes.

2.         Composition

The CEPEJ-GT-QUAL shall be composed of 6 members of the CEPEJ or experts, proposed by member States and appointed by the CEPEJ Bureau, with an in-depth knowledge in the field of operation of courts and analyse of judicial practice. Their travel and subsistence expenses will be borne by the budget of the Council of Europe. Other experts appointed by the member States might participate in its work, at their own expenses.

The relevant Council of Europe and European Union bodies may be represented to the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses.

The non-governmental organisations granted observer status with the CEPEJ may be invited by the Bureau to participate in the work of the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL, on a case-by-case basis, if the Bureau considers their attendance relevant for the quality of the work.

3.         Working structures and methods

 

The CEPEJ-GT-QUAL will organise 4 meetings (subject to budgetary availability).

In carrying out its terms of reference, the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL shall cooperate with the CEPEJ Network of Pilot courts. It will also coordinate its work with other relevant CEPEJ's working groups (namely the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL and the Steering Group of the SATURN Centre)

It may also seek the advice of external experts and have recourse to studies by consultants.

4.         Duration

These terms of reference expire on 31 December 2017.

Appendix IV

1.         Tasks

Under the authority of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the Working Group on mediation (CEPEJ-GT-MED) is instructed to enable a better implementation of the Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers concerning mediation.

In order to fulfil its tasks, the CEPEJ-GT-MED shall in particular:

a.                       assess the impact in the States of the existing CEPEJ Guidelines on penal mediation (CEPEJ(2007)13), on family and civil mediation (CEPEJ(2007)14), and on alternatives to litigation between administrative authorities and private parties (CEPEJ(2007)15), and update these Guidelines, where appropriate ;

b.               draft, if appropriate, further tools aimed to ensure an effective implementation of existing  recommendations and guidelines;

                                                                                                                       

c.      contribute, where appropriate, to the implementation of the relevant co-operation programmes.

2.         Composition

The CEPEJ-GT-MED shall be composed of 6 members of the CEPEJ or other experts appointed by the CEPEJ who have an in-depth knowledge in the field of mediation and other measures of alternative dispute resolution. Their travel and subsistence expenses will be borne by the budget of the Council of Europe. Other experts appointed by the member States might participate in its work, at their own expenses.

The relevant Council of Europe, in particular the European Committee on Legal Co‑operation (CDCJ), and European Union bodies might be represented to the CEPEJ-GT-MED without the right to vote or defrayal expenses.

The non-governmental organisations granted observer status to the CEPEJ might be invited by the Bureau to participate in the work of the CEPEJ-GT-MED, on a case-by-case basis, if the Bureau considers their attendance relevant for the quality of the work.

3.         Working structures and methods

The CEPEJ-GT-MED will organise 2 meetings, preferably in 2017.

In carrying out its terms of reference, the CEPEJ-GT-MED may seek the advice of external experts and have recourse to studies by consultants.

4.         Duration

These terms of reference expire on 31 December 2017.