Strasbourg, 15 June 2005                                                                                           CEPEJ (2005) 1

EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE

(CEPEJ)

2004 Activity Report

adopted by the CEPEJ at its 5^th Plenary meeting

(Strasbourg, 15 – 17 June 2005)

For further information: www.coe.int/cepej

        This report outlines the work undertaken by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ)[1] in 2004, in accordance with its Programme of Activities[2]. It was drafted by the Bureau, [adopted by the CEPEJ at its 5^th plenary meeting (15-17 June 2005)] and submitted to the Committee of Ministers for approval, in accordance with Articles 7-6 and 7-7 of the CEPEJ Statute.

        THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE (CEPEJ) IN 2004

1.1 Membership of the CEPEJ

        The CEPEJ is made up of experts from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states. 37 states were represented at the 3^rd plenary meeting (June), and 39 states at the 4^th plenary meeting (December). 4 states did not appoint CEPEJ members during the year (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Switzerland). Among those states enjoying observer status with the Council of Europe, the Holy See and Japan regularly attended meetings.

        The CEPEJ is chaired by Mr Eberhard DESCH (Germany). Mr André POTOCKI (France), Deputy Chair, Mr Alan UZELAC (Croatia) and Mr Pim ALBERS (Netherlands) are also members of the Bureau, which was reappointed for a two-year period (2005–2006) at the 4^th plenary meeting.

            The Parliamentary Assembly, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) and the Steering Committee on Human Rights (CDDH) are also represented at plenary meetings. Arrangements have been made for enhanced co-operation with the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) in view of the complementary nature of the two bodies’ work, while having due regard to their specific features.

        The European Community also contributes to the work of the CEPEJ, and is represented by the European Commission at all plenary and working group meetings. The World Bank has also regularly been represented at plenary and working group meetings.

        The European Association of Judges, the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Communities (CCBE), the European Union of Rechtspfleger (EUR) and the International Union of Judicial Officers (UIHJ) have enjoyed observer status since December 2003. The European Federation of Administrative Judges and European Magistrates for Democracy and Freedom (MEDEL) acquired this status in December 2004. These organisations have taken part in hearings during plenary meetings of the CEPEJ. The rules governing the exercise of observer status by non-governmental organisations were broadened at the 4^th plenary meeting, so as to enable them to participate more fully in the Commission’s work.

1.2 Meetings of the CEPEJ

        The CEPEJ held its 3^rd plenary meeting from 9 to 11 June, and its 4^th plenary meeting from 1 to 3 December, both in Strasbourg.

        The Bureau of the CEPEJ met in Strasbourg on 26 January and 20 October.

        The CEPEJ working group (CEPEJ-GT-2004) met in Strasbourg on three occasions, from 17 to 19 May, 22 to 24 September and 8 to 10 November, with Jean-Paul JEAN (France) in the chair.

        The national correspondents responsible for replies to the Pilot Scheme met in Strasbourg on 21 September, at the instigation of Italy, which made a financial contribution to its implementation. This network of correspondents will meet regularly in future.

2.   CEPEJ ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2004

        The CEPEJ’s work fits into Line of Action 1 in the Council of Europe’s Programme of Activities: "Compliance with human rights and rule of law standards", under the project: "Evaluating and improving efficiency of justice".

        The CEPEJ is entrusted by the Committee of Ministers to propose practical solutions, suitable for use by the Member States of the Council of Europe, for:

                promoting the effective implementation of existing Council of Europe instruments relating to the organisation of justice;

                ensuring that public policies concerning the courts take account of the needs of the users of the justice system and, in particular, the judiciary and law officers;

                       helping to reduce the congestion of the European Court of Human Rights by offering states effective solutions prior to applications to the Court and preventing violations of Article 6.

        In order to fulfil the tasks assigned to it by the Committee of Ministers, in 2004 the CEPEJ concentrated on:

                evaluating the judicial systems of the member states,

                drawing up a Framework Programme for optimal and foreseeable timeframes,

                supporting judicial reforms in certain member states,

                engaging in debate with the European judicial community and providing information to the users of the justice system.

2.1  Tools for analysing the functioning of judicial systems and ensuring that public policies concerning the courts are geared to greater efficiency

2.1.1 Evaluating the functioning of European judicial systems

        The CEPEJ has developed a Pilot Scheme for evaluating judicial systems, which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers at the 870^th meeting of the Deputies (4 February 2004). This Pilot Scheme, initially trialled with 6 member states (the states represented within the CEPEJ-GT-2004) was sent to all the member states. It is designed to obtain comparable, objective quantitative and qualitative data based on criteria agreed by the States concerning the organisation and functioning of judicial systems.

        The collection and processing of these data enabled the CEPEJ to conduct an initial evaluation exercise and to adopt the report on “European Judicial Systems 2002 – Facts and figures on the basis of a survey conducted in 40 Council of Europe Member States”[3] at its 4^th plenary meeting. This report had been drafted by the CEPEJ-GT-2004, on the basis of work undertaken by the Research Centre of the Netherlands Ministry of Justice, under the supervision of Mr Roland ESHUIS, with support from the United Kingdom authorities (University College London).

[The report was presented to the Committee of Ministers by the Chair of the CEPEJ at the 912th meeting of the Deputies (19 January 2005) and was officially presented to and discussed with the European judicial community and the media at the Conference on "Evaluating judicial systems" in The Hague (the Netherlands) on 2 – 3 May 2005].

        43 of the 46 member states supplied their data using this Pilot Scheme, 40 of them in time for their replies to be included in the report – the individual replies from the other 3 states also appear on the CEPEJ website.

        This report is one of the CEPEJ’s first major achievements, in accordance with the terms of reference assigned by the Committee of Ministers. It is a European first: no such exercise had ever been conducted in the justice field. It contains precise and argued information, with detailed figures, in which the reader can find comparative tables on key areas for understanding the functioning of the judicial systems, grasping the main developments, identifying problems and suggest and implementing reforms aimed at making the justice system more efficient.

        As the conclusion of a pilot exercise, it obviously contains limits and shortcomings because of its experimental character. However, it has the merit of showing that this kind of evaluation exercise is not merely possible, but, above all, worthwhile. It gives information about a state with respect to significant indicators of the functioning of its justice system, but in addition shows the comparative perspective. Therefore it raises questions about the reasons behind these facts and figures and will be inspiring for policy makers. It prefigures what might become a regular process of evaluation of European judicial systems by the CEPEJ.

        The CEPEJ has decided to repeat the exercise in 2005, on the basis of a revised Scheme drawn up in the light of the problems encountered during the initial pilot exercise, using the in-depth methodological approach implemented in that exercise and drawing on the network of national correspondents set up to collect the data.

2.2.2 Optimising timeframes for court proceedings

        A Framework Programme "A new objective for judicial systems: the processing of each case within an optimum and foreseeable timeframe"[4], drafted by the CEPEJ-GT-2004, was adopted by the CEPEJ at its 3rd plenary meeting and submitted by its Chair to the Committee of Ministers at the 895th meeting of the Deputies (15 September 2004).

        This programme proposes a fresh, pragmatic approach to dealing with delays in court proceedings, by means of 18 lines of action concerning the organisation of the courts and the role of state institutions, court proceedings and the role of the judiciary and law officers. The member states have been invited to comment on the Framework Programme.

        The CEPEJ aims at contributing to relieving the workload of the Court of Human Rights by elaborating the lines of action into concrete measures. It will in particular cooperate with a network of pilot courts and has invited member states to communicate courts prepared for such cooperation.

2.2.3 Strengthening judicial systems as a means of combating terrorism

        The CEPEJ has drafted an Evaluation Report on the efficiency of the national judicial systems in their responses to terrorism[5], on the basis of a preliminary document by scientific expert Philippe de KOSTER (Belgium). The CEPEJ transmitted this report to the Committee of Ministers at the 895^th meeting of the Deputies (15 September 2004) as a contribution to the activities of the Council of Europe, in accordance with Resolution N° 1 adopted by the European Ministers of Justice at their 25^th conference (Sofia, 2003).

        A CEPEJ representative has also attended meetings of the Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), and the CEPEJ Secretariat has represented the Commission at meetings of the Group of Specialists on Human Rights and the Fight against Terrorism (DH-S-TER) aimed at laying down guidelines concerning the victims of terrorism and human rights.

2.2.4 Supporting Member States in their judicial reforms

        The consolidated report "Practical ways of combating delays in the justice system, excessive workloads for judges and case backlogs”[6], drafted at the request of Croatia and Slovenia, was adopted by the CEPEJ at its 3^rd plenary meeting, following a consultation process conducted by a team of experts with the competent authorities in the beneficiary countries. The report was presented during a seminar held in Zagreb on 10 and 11 May. The authorities in question have made use of the experts’ recommendations in order to continue their judicial reforms: organisation of the courts and of the Clerk’s Office (including computerisation and restructuring of financial and administrative departments). A follow-up seminar is to take place in Ljubljana in 2005.

        The report "Advancing legal and judicial approaches to mediation in civil, family and commercial matters"[7], drafted at the request of Malta, was adopted by the CEPEJ at its 3^rd plenary meeting, following the consultation process conducted by a team of experts with the competent authorities in the beneficiary country. The report was presented during a seminar held in Valletta from 26 to 28 February. The experts’ recommendations have been taken into account for the reform of the mediation system as regards family matters.

2.2 Contributing specific expertise to the debate about the functioning of the justice system

2.2.1 Providing the judicial community with a forum for discussion and suggestions

        The European conference "Towards an ideal trial: a few examples of the most successful judicial civil proceedings in Europe" was held in Brussels from 18 to 20 November. The CEPEJ was heavily involved in this event, which was organised jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Commission and was a major success (attracting nearly 200 participants from the European judicial community). It set out to highlight and discuss innovative practices implemented in various European states, at various stages in civil proceedings.

        In the conference conclusions, it was proposed that a “European Prize for Good Practices in the Field of Judicial Proceedings” be set up, organised jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Commission. This prize is designed to identify and highlight innovative, effective practices being implemented in courts which would be worth bringing to the attention of public decision-makers and the judicial community with a view to improving the functioning of the public justice system.

        The Chair of the CEPEJ and the Secretariat also took part in the colloquy organised by the Dutch chairmanship of the Council of Europe, on “The efficiency of justice within the Council of Europe and its member States” (The Hague, 19 April). Inter alia, the conclusions of this colloquy call upon the Member States and the Council of Europe to give priority to the work of the CEPEJ and to use the CEPEJ’s evaluation of judicial systems in order to develop policies aimed at strengthening those systems. They also encourage the European Union to take account of the CEPEJ’s work.

        The CEPEJ’s work was also presented during a seminar organised by the Italian Ministry of Justice, entitled “Measuring Justice” (Rome, 14-15 October), which afforded an opportunity to compare Italian, French and Spanish experiences in this area.

        Furthermore, the Chair of the CEPEJ and the Secretariat took part in the Congress of the European Union of Bailiffs (Luxembourg, 4 October), during which the Commission’s work was presented.

2.2.2 Bringing justice systems and their users closer

        The 2^nd European Day of Civil Justice, organised jointly by the Council of Europe (under the auspices of the CEPEJ) and the European Commission, enjoyed growing success. Events designed to educate the public about judicial systems were held in 14 Member States. The main event was held at the court of Bautzen (Saxony, Germany) on 27 October, at the invitation of the German authorities. The Day was organised around mock trials conducted according to German, Czech and Polish procedures in front of an audience comprising leading figures from the three countries and a large number of school pupils, followed by a closing discussion. Council of Europe and European Commission information stands were set up. The court of Bautzen had also organised an exhibition on the European institutions.

        The colloquy "The Civil Code and Europe: Influences and Modernity" (Strasbourg, 21-22 October), organised by the Council of Europe in conjunction with the French Ministry of Justice and Court of Cassation and attended by some 400 participants, was also part of the European Day of Civil Justice.

2.2.3 Initiating discussion about ways of remedying dysfunctions within courts

        For the second year running, the CEPEJ met for a study session (30 November). This session, held at the instigation of the French delegation, focused on mechanisms for checking that courts are functioning properly. A questionnaire sent to the member states had assisted in the preparation of this study session.

        The session afforded an opportunity to present the French, Belgian and Portuguese systems, thanks to contributions by Mr Christian RAYSSEGUIER, Inspector General of the French Judicial Services, Mr Carlos Manuel GONCALVES de MELO MARINHO, member of the Portuguese Judicial Service Commission, and Mr Xavier de RIEMAEKER, Chair of the Belgian Judicial Service Commission.

        Following very wide-ranging discussions, the CEPEJ emphasised the large convergences between its own work and the activities of judicial evaluation services in the member states, in terms of the quality and efficiency of the justice system.

        The replies to the questionnaire have provided the CEPEJ with a data base on systems designed to remedy existing dysfunctions within national courts. A special file will be published on the CEPEJ website.

        This study session will be followed up appropriately in 2005, inter alia through continued dialogue with services responsible for evaluating justice systems in the Member States.

2.2.4  Playing an active role in the debate about the efficiency of human rights protection mechanisms

        In view of its specific role in reducing the number of applications to the European Court of Human Rights, and particularly the vast number of cases relating to dysfunctions in judicial systems (Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights), the Bureau of the CEPEJ has confirmed the CEPEJ’s willingness, within its Statute, to build on the synergies between its work and the process of reflection aimed at improving the functioning of the Convention’s monitoring mechanisms.

        The Chair of the CEPEJ attended the “High-Level Seminar on Reforms of the European Human Rights System”, held in Oslo on 18 October under the auspices of the Norwegian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers.

41.  The CEPEJ Secretariat attended the conference to mark the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention of Human Rights in Romania (Bucharest, 8-9 July), which included a presentation of the CEPEJ’s Framework Programme “A new objective for judicial systems: the processing of each case within an optimum and foreseeable timeframe”. The participants discussed this programme in depth, welcoming its practical nature.