Strasbourg,15 October 2014
CEPEJ-SATURN(2014)10
EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE
(CEPEJ)
Steering Group of the SATURN Centre for judicial time management (CEPEJ-SATURN)
16th meeting
Strasbourg, 15 and 17 October 2014
MEETING REPORT
Report prepared by the Secretariat
Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law
I. Introduction
1. The Steering Group of the SATURN Centre for the study and analysis of judicial time management of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) held its 16th meeting in Strasbourg on 15 and 17 October 2014, with Jacques BÜHLER (Switzerland) as the Chair.
2. The agenda and the list of participants appear respectively in Appendices I and II to this report.
3. The plenary meeting of the network of pilot courts was held on 16 October 2014.
II. Information by the President, members of the Group and the Secretariat
4. The President welcomed the Moroccan and Jordanian delegations who came to acquaint themselves with the SATURN Group’s work.
5. The President informed the group of its participation at the annual Conference of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) regarding the administration of justice and courts which was held from 10 to 12 September 2014 in Speyer (Germany).
6. Ivana BORZOVA (Czech Republic) announced her participation to a seminar organised by the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) regarding judicial time management during which she presented the SATURN tools on 3 and 4 November 2014 in London.
III. Collection of data on timeframe of civil, criminal and administrative proceedings from the CEPEJ pilot courts- Data and questionnaire 2014
7. Marco FABRI (Italy) presented the balance sheet of data collection organised in certain pilot courts which was based on the new questionnaire (CEPEJ-SATURN (2014)7).
8. The President noted the difficulty that emerged with regards to data collection and proposed to review the methodology used for collection.
IV. Preparation of the 9th plenary meeting of the network of pilot courts
9. The Working Group organised, for the meeting of pilot courts held the next day, the following workshops:
- A workshop that aimed at verifying if the good practices that were identified in the document were still valid as well as adapting the above-mentioned document with the current best practices (this workshop was divided into 3 groups : (i) civil courts, (ii) administrative and appeal courts, (iii) criminal courts) ;
- A workshop that aimed in precising the applicable objectives within courts in 2015 with regards to timeframes (this workshop was divided into 3 groups : (i) civil matters, (ii) administrative matters, (iii) criminal matters) ;
- A workshop aimed at verifying if the guidelines on expertise that are currently in the elaboration process by the Working Group on Quality of Justice of the CEPEJ (CEPEJ-GT-QUAL) covered all the relevant aspects in the light of the pilot courts’ experience.
V. Integration of guidelines on timeframe of proceedings for prosecutors
10. Jon JOHNSEN (Norway) presented a project for SATURN Guidelines for prosecutors (document CEPEJ-SATURN(2014)9) that could be useful in completing the document on “Revised SATURN Guidelines for judicial time management” (CEPEJ (2008)8Rev3). The main purpose is to define target timeframes for prosecutors.
11. The Working Group examined the document and agreed on the following:
- the inclusion of these guidelines for prosecutors in Part II of the CEPEJ document (2008)8Rev3 ;
- the addition of a preliminary note specifying that these Guidelines (I) only cover the criminal procedure, (II) only cover the pre-trial stage, and (III) that the rest of the document is applied mutatis mutandis to prosecutors;
- the addition of the Calvez-Regis Report’s reference to Guideline 4, in order to specify the moment from which the timeframe is measured during an investigation.
12. The Secretariat was instructed by the Working Group to forward the document to the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCEP) for advice. The Working Group also expressed their wish to include this document on the agenda of the next plenary meeting of the CEPEJ in Strasbourg, for its adoption.
VI. Updating of SATURN guidelines for judicial time management – Comments and implementation examples
13. The Working Group and one of its editors, Marco FABRI, highlighted once again the importance of regularly updating the document on “SATURN Guidelines for Judicial time management – comments and implementation examples” (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2013)4), and noted that the reminders for updates done by electronic mail to the pilot courts did not provide satisfying results.
14. They expressed their wish for the workshop organised the next day, by requesting a response from the representatives of the pilot courts to modify the document directly on paper for their respective countries, enabling a real update.
VII. Definition of targets for judicial timeframes
15. Marco FABRI presented the following document “Towards European Timeframes for Judicial Proceedings: an Initial Proposal” (Document CEPEJ-SATURN (2014)3rev). He noted the good response rate of the pilot courts for this exercise.
16. The Working Group considered that the judicial timeframes, as mentioned in the document, seem to be correct but should be presented even more as targets. Furthermore, they should be accompanied by a user guide of these targets, including a description of the different stages in order to reach these targets.
17. The CEPEJ-GT-SATURN instructed Marco FABRI to modify the document in order for it to become a real Guide for European judicial timeframes; once accepted by the Working Group, this Guide shall be tested by some pilot courts (e.g. Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland) by June 2015. This document may then be included in the 25th plenary meeting of the CEPEJ agenda, which is supposed to be held in early July 2015.
VIII. Recent ECtHR case-law on the reasonable time criterion and EctHR statistics
18. The Chair presented a table showing the recent ECtHR case-law on the reasonable time criterion, and added that there had been no changes in the Court's case-law that would require the CEPEJ to modify its practice. He cited two recent cases: Svinarenko & Slyadnev v. Russia on 17 July 2014 (where procedure lasted 6 years and 10 months in total), and Mocanu v. Romania on 17 September 2014 (procedure lasted for more than 20 years).
19. The Group noted that such a table proves very useful and therefore should be kept updated for future meetings.
IX. Continuous improvement of data collection on the length of judicial procedures, in the framework of the CEPEJ evaluation report
20. The Chair presented the response rate from states in the 2014 exercise (2012 data). A stable, or very slightly decreasing rate could be noticed. Question 102 (average length of proceedings, per day, per type of case) remains problematic.
X. Exchange of views on whether the CEPEJ should propose the updating of Recommendation R(86)12 concerning measures to prevent and reduce the excessive workload in the courts
21. Jean-Jacques KUSTER (Chair of the European Union of Rechtspfleger, EUR) took note that the objectives of Recommendation R(86)12 are in line with those of the CEPEJ. He suggested that the Group could propose an update of the Recommendation, with the help from the EUR, which would imply a review of the tasks usually delegated to judges and which could be transferred to the court staff.
22. The Chair proposed to set up a list of all autonomous / delegated tasks for Rechtspfleger and court clerks. This list could then be examined in light of the appendix of the Recommendation, which includes examples of non-judicial tasks of which judges could be relieved.
23. Following this discussion, the Group proposed that the Secretariat prepares an Opinion to be discussed during the next CEPEJ plenary meeting. Thus, concrete elements and considerations could be proposed to the European Committee of Judicial Cooperation (ECJC) with a view to amend the Recommendation.
XI. Promotion and dissemination of SATURN judicial time management tools
a) Coaching programme in Malta
24. Francesco DESPASQUALE (Malta) provided information on the meeting held in Malta in May 2014, with Jacques BUHLER and John STACEY, which brought together magistrates and court clerks for the first time. He also reported that Maltese authorities asked for a report from the experts in order to facilitate the implementation of the Guidelines on judicial time management.
b) Co-operation with Albania
25. Jon JOHNSEN informed that the CEPEJ co-operation activity aiming at implementing SATURN tools will be deployed to all Albanese courts. The CEPEJ experts team, exclusively composed of Jacques BUHLER and Jon JOHNSEN, should be enlarged, since their action was formerly limited to 5 pilot courts.
26. Jon JOHNSEN emphasized the fact that contributing to the training provided by the Judicial Academy for students to familiarize themselves with CEPEJ tools before they start their activity, is very important for the CEPEJ.
c) Co-operation with Croatia
27. Ivan CRNCEC (Croatia), member of the SATURN Group but also project manager of the CEPEJ co-operation programme with Croatia (in the framework of Norway Grants), indicated that the programme started on 1 September 2014 and is expected to take 15 months. It consists in implementing SATURN tools in Karlovac court, and then in deploying this process to other Croatian courts. He also added that this programme goes along a national reform of the judicial map.
28. A first meeting has been organised on 2 September 2014 in Zagreb, with the CEPEJ team of experts, Croatian Ministry of Justice officials, and Karlovac court representatives. It consisted in defining concrete expectations of the Croatian authorities, and set up the short-term CEPEJ activity.
29. Thus, a report which includes (i) an evaluation of the Croatian judicial system based on statistical data, and (ii) an assessment of methods already used by Karlovac court, with a view to reduce the length of proceedings, along with recommendations regarding the implementation of SATURN tools, will be prepared by the CEPEJ team of experts and sent to the Croatian authorities by the end of November.
d) Co-operation with Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan
30. The persons in charge of the “South programme” in the CEPEJ Secretariat presented the on-going development of the cooperation with Tunisia (4 pilot courts) and in Morocco (3 pilot courts). A new programme, starting from January 2015, could help to pursue the on-going activities but also deployed them to other courts. The results are encouraging since a strong confidence-based relationship has been built between Tunisian and Moroccan interlocutors, present in this meeting, and the CEPEJ.
31. There have been three visits in the pilot courts of Amman, Madaba and Sahab, and a first evaluation report of the Jordanian judicial system, which contains different concrete propositions for co-operation in the three cited courts.
32. The Jordanian delegation, who attended the meeting, expressed its wish for an intensified cooperation in the future, and indicated that this cooperation could happen in an important moment for Jordan, which is currently reforming its judicial system.
XII. Other business
33. The Chair insisted on the need to regularly update the SATURN webpage on the CEPEJ website.
34. The Chair thanked particularly experts Marco FABRI and Jon JOHNSEN for their contributions to this meeting.
ANNEXE I /APPENDIX I
AGENDA / Ordre du jour de la réunion
1. Opening of the meeting
Ouverture de la réunion
2. Information by the President, members of the Group and the Secretariat
Information du Président, des membres du Groupe et du Secrétariat
3. Collection of data on timeframe of civil, criminal and administrative proceedings from the CEPEJ pilot courts in member States – Data and questionnaire 2014
Collecte de données sur la durée des procédures civiles, pénales et administratives auprès des tribunaux référents de la CEPEJ – Données et questionnaire 2014
4. Preparation of the 9th plenary meeting of the network of pilot courts
Préparation de la 9ème réunion plénière du Réseau des tribunaux référents
5. Integration of guidelines on timeframe of proceedings for prosecutors
Intégration de lignes directrices en matière de délais judiciaires pour les procureurs
6. Updating of SATURN Guidelines for judicial time management - Comments and implementation examples
Mise à jour des Lignes directrices SATURN sur la gestion du temps judiciaire - commentaires et exemples
7. Definition of targets for judicial timeframes
Définition d’objectifs en matière de délais judiciaires
8. Recent ECtHR case law to the reasonable time criterion and statistics of the ECtHR
Jurisprudence récente de la CrEDH quant au critère du délai raisonnable et statistiques de la CrEDH
9. Continuous improvement of data collection
Amélioration continue des données collectées
10. Exchange of views concerning the opportunity for the CEPEJ to propose the updating of the Recommendation R(86)12 concerning measures to prevent and reduce the excessive workload in the courts
Echange de vues concernant l’opportunité pour la CEPEJ de proposer une mise à jour de la Recommandation R(86)12 relative à certaines mesures visant à prévenir et réduire la surcharge de travail des tribunaux
11. Promotion and dissemination of SATURN judicial time management tools
Promotion et diffusion des outils SATURN de gestion des délais judiciaires
a. Coaching programme in Malta
Programme d’appui à Malte
b. Co-operation with Albania
Coopération avec l’Albanie
c. Co-operation with Croatia
Coopération avec la Croatie
d. Co-operation with Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan
Coopération avec le Maroc, la Tunisie et la Jordanie
e. Other coaching programmes
Autres programmes d'appui
12. Other points - Follow up
Autres points - Suite des travaux
Internet site of CEPEJ: SATURN page
Site internet de la CEPEJ: page SATURN
ANNEXE II/ APPENDIX II
List of participants / Liste des participants
Irakli ADEISHVILI, Chairman, Chamber of Civil Cases, Tbilisi City Court, TBILISI, GEORGIA
Ivana BORZOVÁ, Head, Department of Civil Supervision, Ministry of Justice, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Jacques BÜHLER, Secrétaire général adjoint, Tribunal fédéral suisse, LAUSANNE, SUISSE (Chair of the Group / Président du Groupe)
Francesco DEPASQUALE, Magistrate, Ministry representative, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, VALLETTA, MALTA
Giacomo OBERTO, Magistrat, Tribunal de Grande Instance, TURIN, ITALIE
Ivan CRNČEC, Assistant Minister of Justice, ZAGREB, CROATIA
Jon T. JOHNSEN, Professor in Law, Faculty of law, University of Oslo, NORWAY
John STACEY, International Consultant for Court Administration, UNITED KINGDOM (Chair of the CEPEJ / Président de la CEPEJ) apologised/excusé
***
Invited State / Pays invité
JORDAN/JORDANIE
Judge Ahmad Abdelrahman ALJAMALIAH, Ministry of Justice Secretary General, Head of the delegation
Judge Moh'd AWWAD ALGHRAIR, Head of Amman first Instance Court
Judge Khaled ABDELRAZZAQ ALNSOUR,Head of Madaba first Instance Court
Judge Jaber ODEH ALSHDAIFAT, Head of Sahab Magistrate Court
Judge Hiba MODAR AL-BITAR, Head of policy and capacity building unit – MOJ
Susan YASSIN, CoE Consultant
***
Scientific ExpertS / Experts scientifiques
Marco FABRI, Director, Research Institute on Judicial Systems, National Research Council (IRSIG-CNR), BOLOGNA, ITALY
***
OBSERVERS / OBSERVATEURS
EUROPEAN UNION OF RECHTSPFLEGER AND COURT CLERKS/UNION EUROPEENNE DES GREFFIERS DE JUSTICE (EUR)
Jean-Jacques KUSTER, Président de l’Union européenne des Rechtspfleger (UER)
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF BAILIFFS / UNION INTERNATIONALE DES HUISSIERS DE JUSTICE ET OFFICIERS JUDICIAIRES (UIHJ)
Me Bernard MENUT, 1er Vice-président de l’UIHJ, FRANCE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION / COMMISSION EUROPEENNE : Apologised / Excusé
Council of the European Union / Conseil de l’Union européenne
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (LIBE COMMISSION) / PARLEMENT EUROPEEN (COMMISSION LIBE)
WORLD BANK / BANQUE MONDIALE: Apologised / Excusé
COUNCIL OF EUROPE / CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE
SECRETARIAT
Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI)
Division for the Independence and Efficiency of Justice /
Direction Générale droits de l’Homme et Etat de droit (DGI)
Division pour l’indépendance et l’efficacité de la justice
Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 37 43
E-mail : [email protected]
Stéphane LEYENBERGER, Secretary of the CEPEJ / Secrétaire de la CEPEJ, Tel : +33 3 88 41 34 12, e-mail: [email protected]
Muriel DECOT, Co-Secretary of the CEPEJ / Co-secrétaire de la CEPEJ, Tél: +33 3 90 21 44 55, e-mail: [email protected]
Jean-Pierre GEILLER, Documentation, Tél : +33 3 88 41 22 27, e-mail : [email protected]
Annette SATTEL, Communication, Tél: +33 3 88 41 39 04, e-mail: [email protected]
Anna KHROMOVA, Assistante, Tél : +33 3 88 41 21 68, e-mail: [email protected]
INTERPRETES
Shaima REZK
Sabir TARAOUAT
Grégoire DEVICTOR
Rémy JAIN
Bettina LUDEWIG