Strasbourg, 8 April 2011
CEPEJ-GT-EVAL(2011)3
EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE
(CEPEJ)
WORKING GROUP ON THE EVALUATION OF JUDICIAL SYSTEMS
(CEPEJ-GT-EVAL)
Strasbourg, 17th meeting, 7-8 April 2011
MEETING REPORT
Report prepared by the Secretariat
Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs
1. The Working Group on the evaluation of judicial systems (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL) of the Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) held its 17th meeting on 7 and 8 April 2011 at the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg. Mr. Jean-Paul JEAN (France) was re-elected as Chairman of the Group.
2. The agenda and list of participants are appended to this report (Appendix I and II respectively)
- Information by the Secretariat and expert members of the GT-EVAL
3. The CEPEJ-GT-EVAL commended on the work achieved by Mrs. Elsa GARCIA MALTRAS de BLAS who left the Group because of her new position within the European Commission.
4. Mr. Georg STAWA informed the group of his participation in a video-conference learning session in January 2011 with World Bank representatives where they discussed the CEPEJ works and how the CEPEJ activities could fit World Bank purposes. The World Bank representatives stated that they were looking forward to additional learning sessions of the same.
5. Mr. Georg STAWA also attended a conference on Court Management in Supreme Courts and Possible Solutions to Workload on 23-24 March 2011, at the Court of Cassation in Ankara (Turkey). There, he made a presentation on “Human resources management in the judiciary”. The participants to the conference were highly interested in the work of the CEPEJ, especially on indicators and tools based on court statistics. They also stated that they were looking forward to sharing experiences during the next peer review visit planned on May 10th-11th, 2011.
6. Mr. Georg STAWA and Mr. Ramin GURBANOV gave information about the recent conference they attended in Tbilisi (Georgia) to discuss “modern challenges of judicial reform in the South Caucasus region” (namely, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). This conference was organised by the Supreme Court of Georgia and the German International Cooperation Programme (GTZ). They requested CEPEJ to give input on indicators and experience on evaluation of judicial systems. Georg STAWA encouraged participants to make good use of the CEPEJ tools and share best practice solutions.
7. Mr. Jean-Paul JEAN added that the World Bank wishes also to work on issues concerning prosecutors and outsourcing of court services. He asked the GT-EVAL whether the CEPEJ could receive financial compensation in return for making tools and expertise available.
8. Mr. Jean-Paul JEAN informed of his presentation, together with Mr. Jacques BÜHLER (Switzerland), on the “Members of the judiciary serving justice: a European approach” at the Ecole Nationale de Magistrature in Bordeaux (France), on 29 October 2010 before the junior judges. He presented the 2010 CEPEJ Report on the Evaluation of European Judicial Systems which has been frequently mentioned in parliamentary reports. Jean-Paul JEAN also carried out a case-study on judicial timeframes with the legal trainees.
9. Mr. Jean-Paul JEAN informed of his presentation on the 2010 Evaluation Report at the French Cour des Comptes.
10. Mr. John STACEY, CEPEJ President, attended in Budapest (Hungary), on 11 February 2011, the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) steering committee meeting, where he presented several works carried out by CEPEJ and expressed hopes to work more closely in the future with this organisation.
11. Mr. John STACEY will be attending a conference in Athens organised by the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia to represent CEPEJ and exchange best practices.
12. The Secretariat informed that Mr. Jacques BÜHLER (Switzerland) gave a presentation on CEPEJ and the 2010 report on European judicial systems in Bern (Switzerland).
13. Mr Frans Van der DOELEN informed that the 2010 Report was used at the Dutch Parliament, mainly as references for international comparisons.
14. Mr. Vivien WHITE informed that the European Union of Rechtspfleger (EUR) has met with the new French minister of Justice who was receptive to its presentation and is looking forward to future collaboration.
2. Exploitation of the 2010 Report
15. The Secretariat informed the GT-EVAL that, since the CEPEJ plenary meeting, the 2010 Evaluation report has been widely disseminated and is still mentioned in current issues (for instance, during the movement by the members of the judiciary in France). The Secretariat has been receiving frequent questions on how to understand the report and has constantly made clear that classifying the countries’ justice systems is not the objective of the report.
16. Mr. Jean-Paul JEAN presented a study on EU member states based on the 2010 Report. The GT-EVAL instructed the Secretariat to translate and publish it on the website.
17. Mr. Audun BERG presented some conclusions for Northern European states based on the Evaluation report. The GT-EVAL instructed the Secretariat to publish a concise version of the presentation on the website. Such regional study could be done for other groups of member states.
18. The Secretariat informed that the report under preparation by the CCBE on the basis of the 2008 Report on the role of lawyers in judicial procedures should be made available for the next GT-EVAL meeting.
Use of practical indicators
19. The Working Group entrusted the Secretariat to create a dynamic presentation of the main CEPEJ tools, including the 2010 Report. This should target the stakeholders of the justice system and point clearly to the aims of the CEPEJ tools. It should also explain how to use the tools and what benefits such tools may bring. This will take place within the framework of the CEPEJ's Road Show planned in the CEPEJ's Activity Programme.
20. The experts agreed that CEPEJ should not be seen as a tool for managerial pressure on judges, but as a body which provides simple and concrete tools to understand how the systems function so as to carry out reforms accordingly (tools for decision making). It should aim at increasing judicial culture among court administrators and administrative culture within the judiciary.
21. Mr. Jean-Paul JEAN made a proposal to the Working Group to establish a White Book in which the CEPEJ would select a limited number of the most efficient key measures (around 20) that it had designed to improve the functioning of judicial systems (the CEPEJ's acquis). The White Book should illustrate those proposals with practical experiences.
22. The members of the GT-EVAL agreed that, in order to promote efficiency and quality of justice, it is essential to show member states how to make good use of their investments. Conclusions can be drawn from the statistical data and instruments. Moreover, a distinction must be made between case management and judge management. Indeed, CEPEJ must not simply be a way to apply quantitative pressure on the member states, especially as budgetary restrictions are becoming general across Europe. CEPEJ’s aim is to provide simple tools which should assist management decisions. Mr. Audun BERG notes that the balance between the independence and accountability of judges must be applied differently depending on the countries.
23. Mr. Frans Van der DOELEN underlined that quality indicators exist in the CEPEJ's Report, and deserve to be highlighted.
24. Mr. Adis HODZIC advised the Working Group to go more in depth as regards the definition of quality indicators to be designed together with the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL. He presented some ways of promoting a strategic management approach within the judicial systems of the member states. He stressed the importance of external and internal accountability of the judicial systems. He highlighted key judicial performance aspects (timeframes, case-flow, productivity, cost-effectiveness, quality of work) and proposed a number of policy solutions. The GT-EVAL entrusted Mr. HODZIC to provide the Secretariat with a working paper for further discussions.
25. Mr. Georg STAWA agreed to prepare a document on quality indicators, focusing, at first, on measurable indicators based on quantitative data. Such document could be discussed at the next meeting of the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL, where Jean-Paul JEAN and Georg STAWA could be invited to participate as GT-EVAL representatives.
- Study on Council of Europe member states appeal and supreme courts’ length of proceedings by Marco Velicogna
26. The GT-EVAL acknowledged the significant value of the latest report by Mr. Marco Velicogna on lengths of proceedings, providing an in-depth analysis of the data available on length of proceedings at the level of appeal courts and supreme courts. This report will be discussed in particular by the SATURN Steering Group during the 19-20 May 2011 meeting in Strasbourg.
4. Implementation of the 2010 – 2012 evaluation cycle
27. The GT-EVAL revised the Evaluation Scheme (including the electronic version) and its Explanatory Note, taking into account the discussions at the latest CEPEJ plenary meeting.
28. The working timetable was confirmed as follows:
- the revised versions of the Scheme and explanatory Note will be sent to the CEPEJ members for final approval before the end of April 2011;
- 15th May 2011: opening of the electronic version of the scheme for the national correspondents;
- Autumn 2012: selection of a scientific expert for data collection and processing (the expert would work within the Secretariat from January to September 2012);
- 31st December 2011: closing of the electronic scheme (with a possible extension for federal states);
- March 2012: working meeting of the GT-EVAL;
- May 2012: meeting of the GT-EVAL with the national correspondents to work on the basis of the preliminary report - most of the graphs and tables should be ready at that time;
- end of June 2012: adoption of report by the plenary meeting;
- end of September 2012: publication (possibly within the framework of the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe to take place in Vienna, Austria).
5. Implementation of the peer evaluation cooperation process
29. The Secretariat informed the GT-EVAL of a technical modification by the Russian Federation in the previous peer evaluation report.
30. The GT-EVAL and the Secretariat discussed the following 2011 peer evaluation process and which experts will be participating in the reviews:
- Turkey, 10-11 May 2011: the programme of activities was received on 8 April 2011;
- The Netherlands, 20-21 June: the programme of activities was provided to the GT-EVAL experts on 8 April 2011 by Mr. Frans VAN DER DOELEN and Mrs. Michelle MÖHL
- Austria, 13-14 October 2011
31. The prospect of adding a half-day “Road Show” session to the visits in the Netherlands and Austria was discussed.
- Cooperation with the European Union
32. The Chairman and the Secretariat informed that they represented CEPEJ in a meeting in Brussels, on 3 February 2011, following an invitation by the Council of the European Union, with the participation of JLS counsellors of 12 EU member states, representatives of the Council of the EU, European Commission, Secretariat of the European Parliament. They called for the EU bodies to use the 2010 Evaluation Report for the EU's own purposes. They mentioned point 1.2.5 of the Stockholm Programme which states that “synergies and cooperation should be sought, in particular with the work of the Council of Europe”.
33. Mr. Luca DE MATTEIS (Council of the European Union) stated that such meeting was a very important first step to be followed by other steps. He added that the work of CEPEJ is fundamental to the work of all EU bodies and that the Council of the EU is happy to help in making the CEPEJ projects become a reality. He acknowledged the immense work put in drafting and preparing the report, reminded the delegations of the importance to participate in the work and looked forward to future collaboration. He added that the data collected by CEPEJ is becoming increasingly more relevant to his work as a number of areas in procedural law are covered by EU legislation (i.e. legal aid, victims in legal proceedings).
34. Mr. Michel CARLIN (European Commission) informed of the preparation of an evaluation instrument on criminal justice. It shall be a mechanism to study the concrete implementation of EU policies in member states. The scope of such instrument is not yet defined. It will be drafted in a way to avoid duplicating what is already being done by the Council of Europe.
35. Mr. Michel CARLIN added that, pending confirmation from the political level, a consultation meeting, for which CEPEJ would be invited, was to be organised in September 2011.
DRAFT AGENDA /PROJET D’ORDRE DU JOUR
1. Adoption of the agenda / Adoption de l’ordre du jour
2. Appointment of the Chairperson / Désignation du Président
3. Information by the Secretariat /Information du Secrétariat
4. Exploitation of the 2010 Report / Exploitation du rapport 2010
§ Extracts at the EU level / Extraits au niveau de l'Union européenne
§ Some conclusions for Northern European states: exchange of view with Audun BERG, CEPEJ's member in respect of Norway / Quelques conclusions pour les Etats membres de l'Europe du Nord: échange de vues avec Audun BERG, Membre de la CEPEJ au titre de la Norvège
5. Study on Council of Europe member states appeal and supreme courts’ length of proceedings by Marco Velicogna/ Etude de la durée des procédures dans les juridictions d’appel et suprêmes dans les pays membres du Conseil de l’Europe par Marco Velicogna
6. Implementation of the 2010 – 2012 evaluation cycle / Mise en oeuvre du cycle d’évaluation 2010 - 2012
§ Revision of the Evaluation Scheme (including the electronic version) and Explanatory Note / Révision de la grille d’évaluation (y compris sous sa forme électronique) et de la Note explicative
§ Improvement of the electronic Scheme / Amélioration de la Grille électronique
§ Process for selecting a scientific expert / processus pour recruter un expert scientifique
§ How to raise awareness of the national correspondents in due time? / Comment sensibiliser en temps utile les correspondants nationaux?
7. Implementation of the peer evaluation cooperation process /
Mise en œuvre du processus de coopération à travers une évaluation par les pairs
8. Cooperation with the European Union / Coopération avec l'Union européenne
9. Any other business / Questions diverses
List of Participants / Liste des participants
Experts
Beata Z. GRUSZCZYŃSKA, Institute of Justice, Ministry of Justice, WARSAW, POLAND
Ramin GURBANOV, Chief of reforms division, General department of organisation and supervision,
Co-ordinator of Judicial Modernisation Project, Ministry of Justice, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN,
Adis HODZIC, Head of the Budget and Statistics Department, Secretariat High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Jean-Paul JEAN, Avocat général près la Cour d’Appel de Paris, Professeur associé à l’Université de Poitiers, Parquet Général, PARIS, FRANCE (Chairman of the group / Président du Groupe)
John STACEY, Head of International Development for Court Administration, Ministry of Justice, International Directorate, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (President of the CEPEJ / Président de la CEPEJ)
Georg STAWA, Head of Department Pr 8, Projects, Strategy and Innovation, Federal Ministry of Justice, WIEN, AUSTRIA
Frans Van der DOELEN, Programme Manager of the Department of the Justice System, Ministry of Justice, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
Member State / Etat membre
THE NETHERLANDS / PAYS-BAS
Michelle MÖHL, Policy Advisor, Ministry of Justice, THE HAGUE
Scientific experts / experts scientifiques
Audun BERG, Senior adviser, The National Courts Administration, TRONDHEIM, NORWAY
Munira Dossaji, Principal Operational Research Analyst, Strategy and Innovation Team, Human Rights and International Directorate, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Observers / Observateurs
European Union of Rechtspfleger / Union européenne des greffiers de justice et Rechtspfleger
Vivien WHYTE, Greffier au Tribunal de Grande Instance de Strasbourg, STRASBOURG, FRANCE
Jean-Jacques KUSTER, Greffier en chef au Tribunal d’Instance, STRASBOURG CEDEX, FRANCE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION / COMMISSSION EUROPEENNE
Michael CARLIN, Directorate B - Criminal Justice
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION / CONSEIL DE L’UNION EUROPEENNE
Luca De Matteis, Directorate General H - Unit 2 B - Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, BRUXELLES, BELGIQUE
Secretariat/Secrétariat
Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs (DG-HL) – Justice Division /
Direction générale des droits de l’Homme et des affaires juridiques (DG-HL) - Division de la Justice
Fax: +33 3 88 41 37 43 - E-mail: [email protected]
Stéphane LEYENBERGER, Acting Head of the Justice Division, Secretary of the CEPEJ / Chef a.i de la Division de la Justice, Secrétaire de la CEPEJ
Muriel DECOT, Co-Secretary of the CEPEJ / Co-secrétaire de la CEPEJ
Jean-Pierre GEILLER, Documentation
Annette SATTEL, Communication
Kelly SIPP, Administrative assistant / Assistante administrative
Elisabeth HEURTEBISE, Assistant / Assistante
Trainee / Stagiaire
Paul MEYER
Interpreters / Interprètes
Grégoire DEVICTOR
Chloé CHENETIER
Julia TANNER