Strasbourg, 4 November 2015
CEPEJ-GT-EVAL(2015)18
EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE
(CEPEJ)
WORKING GROUP ON THE EVALUATION OF JUDICIAL SYSTEMS
(CEPEJ-GT-EVAL)
28th meeting
4 November 2015
MEETING REPORT
Document prepared by the Secretariat
Directorate General I – Human Rights and Rule of Law
INTRODUCTION
1. The Working Group on the evaluation of judicial systems (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL) of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) held its 28th meeting on 4 November 2015, in Strasbourg under the presidency of Jean-Paul JEAN (France).
2. The agenda and the list of participants appear respectively in appendices I and II to this report.
3. On an exceptional basis, the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL meeting was held on a single day, to allow its members to attend, the second day, an ad hoc meeting of CEPEJ experts involved in the cooperation programmes.
I. INFORMATION BY THE SECRETARIAT AND MEMBERS OF THE GT-EVAL
4. The President of the Working group welcomes the two new members: Simone KRESS (Germany) and Jaša VRABEC (Slovenia).
II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2014-2016 EVALUATION CYCLE
5. The Secretariat of the CEPEJ reminds the agenda for the 2014-2016 evaluation cycle. The deadline regarding the collection of data for the 2016 Evaluation report (2014 data) is set at 31 December 2015. The publication of the report is planned for September 2016. To date, around fifteen States have not answered to any of the questions.
6. The Secretariat points out the peculiarity of the collection of data for this exercise since, for the first time, a specific questionnaire has been done for the part regarding new technologies. Jaša VRABEC (Slovenia) and Isabelle PAPP (Austria) welcome the precision of the questions of this new IT questionnaire which will enable to provide accurate and very concrete explanations.
7. The Secretariat also informs the Working group of the initiatives undertaken regarding the implementation of a new tool, as a first step, of presentation of data. The Secretariat specifies that no decision has been taken to this date with regard to the choice of the software, even though, the software "Tableau"[1] seems to meet all the CEPEJ criteria.
8. The Secretariat stresses on the need, at the start of 2016, for in-depth thinking in the Working group on what will be published and on the different access possible with the hypothesis of such an electronic presentation of data.
III. PREPARATION OF THE 9TH MEETING OF THE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS
9. During this meeting, the Secretariat will present the novelties of the evaluation grid and those of the specific grid concerning new technologies. A document presenting the principles and examples of the quality control routinely performed by the Secretariat will also be distributed to the national correspondents.
10. The Secretariat highlights the utility of the comments that may be transmitted by the national correspondents since they allow bringing clarification elements to the figures.
11. Questions asked by the national correspondents as regards the counting of cases (in first instance), the legal aid or also the inclusion or not of the VAT in the budgets given.
IV. STUDY FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON THE FUNCTIONING OF JUDICIAL SYSTEMS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
12. Along with the exercise of evaluation, data are collected for the “CEPEJ Study on the functioning of judicial systems in the member States of the European Union” prepared for the European Commission in the framework of the Justice Scoreboard 2015. This year, the CEPEJ study is based on a selection of questions of the CEPEJ evaluation grid 2014-2016 and on the specific questionnaire regarding IT. The data collected correspond to 2014 but 2010, 2012, 2013 data will also be used for comparisons.
13. To date, United-Kingdom participation is to be confirmed. The Secretariat specifies that the response rate is very satisfactory.
14. The Secretariat currently proceeds to the data quality check of which it specifies the conditions. The calendar is the following:
- 1st December: submission to the European Commission of the first part of the study containing 133 data tables, accompanied by restructured comments, presented by indicators for the set of participating countries.
- 31st December: submission of the second part of the study containing the country sheets.
15. It also presents two tables containing novelties with respect to the tables usually submitted to the European Commission, one related to the inflation rate and the other introducing the part of the judiciary system budget in the whole justice system.
16. The Secretariat shares the questions that may have been problematic at this stage of the quality check control, in particular the questions regarding satisfaction surveys (Q38), number of cases (Q91 and following) and the legal aid one (Q12).
V. DISCUSSION AND FUTUR DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING ADVANCED AND AGREED SET OF INDICATORS AND TOOLS FOR CEPEJ
17. The President highlights the need to adapt for the future the CEPEJ indicators and the importance to respect the balance between the quantitative and qualitative data.
18. The Secretariat reminds the request made by the CEPEJ Bureau to the CEPEJ-GT-QUAL and to the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL to combine quality indicators to efficiency indicators.
In this framework, Jacques BUHLER (Switzerland) presents a draft document about indicators at national and court levels (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL(2015)9). Adis HODZIC (Bosnia-Herzegovina) makes a presentation entitled “Performance based budgeting”. The latter presentation is followed by a discussion during which some participants wonder about the opportunity to use performance indicators aimed at establishing a ranking between courts or States, such ranking being contrary to the usual approach and the methodology of the CEPEJ.
19. Moreover, Frans VAN DER DOELEN (Netherlands) presents a concise and brief document of one page including the principal indicators (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL(2015)15) from the data of some volunteer countries (Netherlands, Malta, France, Slovenia).
VI. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT PEER EVALUATION CO-OPERATION PROCESS
i. Lithuania
20. The Secretariat went to Lithuania on the 27th and 28th May 2015 and highlights that no major problem was noted during this visit concerning neither the data collection nor their quality.
ii. Slovakia
21. The Secretariat went to Slovakia on the 5th and 6th October 2015. During this visit, an important problem was raised concerning the counting of first instance cases. This problem deserves to be emphasized because it could affect other States. That is why the Secretariat is currently in contact with the national correspondent of this country in order to find a solution to this problem.
iii. Serbia
22. The Secretariat informs the Working group that a peer evaluation mission should be organized upon the Serbian authorities’ request in February or March 2016.
VII. UPDATING OF THE « SCHEME FOR EVALUATING JUDICIAL SYSTEMS - KEY JUDICIAL INDCATORS » IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COOPERATION PROGRAMMES
23. The Secretariat presents the document related to the key indicators in the judiciary system (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL(2015)11PROV) which is used particularly during the first evaluation visits in the countries which are subject to a cooperation programme with the CEPEJ. It includes general questions, easy to fill for interlocutors who have little familiarities to the CEPEJ questionnaires. It aims at indicating to the CEPEJ experts the broad trends of the judicial system of a country or the basic functioning of a court. After discussion, the document is amended and adopted by the GT-EVAL.
24. The Working group tasks the Secretariat with the achievement of an amended version in both languages (French and English) and to adapt accordingly the explanatory note.
Appendix I
1. Adoption of the agenda / Adoption de l’ordre du jour
2. Information by the Secretariat and the CEPEJ-GT-EVAL members / Information du Secrétariat et des membres du CEPEJ-GT-EVAL
3. Implementation of the 2014 – 2016 evaluation cycle and calendar / Mise en oeuvre du cycle d’évaluation 2014 – 2016 et calendrier
- Replies to the scheme : deadlines and calendar, management of questions and management of corrections / Réponses à la grille: délais et calendrier, gestion des questions et gestion des corrections
- Information on the implementation of the new system for collecting, analysing and publishing CEPEJ data (design, access, etc.) / Information concernant la mise en place du nouveau système de collecte, analyse et publication des données CEPEJ (design, accès, etc.)
- Discussion on the content of the general report and the specific report for the next publication / Discussion sur le contenu du rapport général et du rapport spécifique en vue de la prochaine publication
4. Preparation of the 9th meeting of the National correspondents / Préparation de la 9ème réunion des correspondants nationaux
5. Study for the European Commission on the functioning of judicial systems in the member States of the European Union (Scoreboard of justice) / Etude pour la Commission européenne sur le fonctionnement des systèmes judiciaires dans les Etats membres de l’Union européenne (Tableau de bord de la justice)
6. Discussion and futur developments concerning advanced and agreed set of indicators and tools for CEPEJ (evaluation and project at national and court level) / Discussion et développements futurs concernant les indicateurs existants et à venir et les outils pour la CEPEJ (évaluation et projets au niveau national et des tribunaux)
- Indicators used for an evaluation between States / Indicateurs utilisés pour une évaluation effectuée entre Etats
- Indicators used for an evaluation between courts in a same State / Indicateurs utilisés pour une évaluation effectuée entre tribunaux d’un même Etat
With the participation of Jacques Bühler and Georg Stawa – Avec la participation de Jacques Bühler et Georg Stawa
7. Implementation of the pilot peer evaluation co-operation process / Mise en œuvre du processus de coopération à travers une évaluation par les pairs
i. Lithuanie / Lituanie
ii. Slovakia/ Slovaquie
iii. Serbia / Serbie
8. Updating of the « scheme for evaluating judicial systems - key judicial indcators » in the framework of the cooperation programmes / Mise à jour dans le cadre des programmes de coopération de la « grille pour l’évaluation des systèmes judiciaires – Indicateurs clé dans le domaine judiciaire »
9. Future cooperation with the Department of Execution of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights / Coopération future avec le Service de l’exécution des arrêts de la Cour européenne des Droits de l’Homme
10. Any other business / Questions diverses
Appendix II
List of Participants / Liste des participants
Members / Membres
Ramin GURBANOV, Judge, Baku City Yasamal District court, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, Apologised / Excusé
Adis HODZIC, Senior Advisor for Statistics High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Jean-Paul JEAN, Président de chambre, Directeur du service de documentation, des études et du rapport, Chef du service des relations internationales, Cour de cassation (President of the GT-EVAL / Président du GT-EVAL)
Simone KREβ, Vice-President, Landgericht Köln, GERMANY,
Frans Van der DOELEN, Programme Manager of the Department of the Justice System, Ministry of Justice, THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
Jaša VRABEC, Senior Judicial Adviser, President's Office, Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia,
PRESIDENT OF CEPEJ / PRESIDENT DE LA CEPEJ
Georg STAWA, Head of Department Pr 8, Projects, Strategy and Innovation, Federal Ministry of Justice,
PRESIDENT OF THE CEPEJ-SATURN/PRESIDENT DU CEPEJ-SATURN
Jacques BÜHLER, Secrétaire Général suppléant, Tribunal fédéral suisse,
OTHER EXPERTS / AUTRES EXPERTS
Bartolomeo CAPPELLINA, Doctorant – PhD candidate, Centre Emile Durkheim, Sciences Po Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux
Isabelle PAPP, Ministry of Justice, AUSTRIA
Scientific experts / Expert scientifiques
Munira Dossaji, Principal Operational Research Analyst , Strategy and Innovation Team, Human Rights and International Directorate, LONDON
Beata Z. GRUSZCZYŃSKA, Institute of Justice, Professor at University of Warsaw and Institute of Justice, POLAND
Observers / Observateurs
EUROPEAN EXPERTISE AND EXPERT INSTITUTE / INSTITUT EUROPEEN DE L’EXPERTISE ET DE L’EXPERT (EEEI)
Jean-Raymond LEMAIRE, Président de l’EEEI
European Union of Rechtspfleger / Union européenne des greffiers de justice et Rechtspfleger (EUR)
Jean-Jacques KUSTER, Président
EUROPEAN COMMISSION / COMMISSSION EUROPEENNE
Elsa GARCIA-MALTRAS, Elsa GARCIA-MALTRAS, Directorate General Justice, European Commission
Secretariat
DGI – Human Rights and Rule of Law
Division for the Independence and Efficiency of Justice/
Secrétariat
DGI - Droits de l’Homme et Etat de droit
Division pour l’indépendance et l’efficacité de la justice
Fax: +33 (0)3 88 41 37 43
E-mail: [email protected]
Hanne JUNCHER, Head of Justice and co-operation Department / Chef du Service de la coopération judiciaire et juridique, Tél: +33 (0)3 88 41 24 37, 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]
Christel SCHURRER, Administrator / Administrateur, Tél : +33 3 90 21 56 97, e-mail: [email protected]
Yannick MENECEUR, Special Advisor to the Secretariat of the CEPEJ / Conseiller spécial auprès du Secrétariat de la CEPEJ, Tél : 33 3 90 21 53 59, e-mail: [email protected]
Lidija NAUMOVSKA, Statistician, Administrator / Administratrice, statisticienne, Tél: +33 3 88 41 22 49, e-mail: [email protected]
Félicie DIARD-DETOEUF, Principal Administrative Assistant / Assistante administrative principale, Tél : +33 (0)3 90 21 55 16, e-mail : [email protected]
|
Guergana LAZAROVA-DECHAUX, Principal Administrative assistant / Assistante administrative principale, Tél : +33 (0)3 90 21 62 11, e-mail : [email protected] |
|
Jean-Pierre GEILLER, Administration et Finances / Administration and Finances, Tél : +33(0) 3 88 41 22 27, e-mail : [email protected]
Annette SATTEL, Administration et Réseaux / Administration and Networks, Tél: +33 (0)3 88 41 39 04, e-mail: [email protected]
Elisabeth HEURTEBISE, Assistant/Assistante, Secretariat of the CEPEJ / Secrétariat de la CEPEJ, e-mail: [email protected]
TRAINEE-STUDY VISITOR / STAGIAIRE- VISITEUR D’ETUDE
Sumru OKAYER, Judge, Ministry of Justice, Turkey
Mariana FERNANDEZ PUCHE
INTERPRETERS / INTERPRETES
Rémy JAIN
Nicolas GUITTONNEAU
Jean-Jacques PEDUSSAUD