Strasbourg, 4 May 2021

CEPEJ-SATURN(2021)7

EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICE

(CEPEJ)

WORKING GROUP ON JUDICIAL TIME MANAGEMENT

(CEPEJ-SATURN)

30^th meeting (Strasbourg - videoconference, 30 March 2021

MEETING REPORT

Report prepared by the Secretariat

Directorate General I - Human Rights and the Rule of Law

1.         INTRODUCTION

1.             The Working Group on judicial time management of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ-SATURN) held its 30^th meeting on 30 March 2021. Considering the sanitary situation, the meeting took place via videoconference (KUDO).

2. The agenda and the list of participants are attached, as Appendices I and II respectively, to this report.

2.         DASHBOARD FOR COURT MANAGEMENT

2.             Shanee BENKIN (Israel) and Martin MIKUŠ (Slovak Republic) presented the final draft handbook on court dashboards (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2020)8REV2). The document was finalised in the light of the comments provided during and after the meeting in February 2021. The scientific experts proceeded with a final quality check and adjusted the terminology used to make it fully compliant with the CEPEJ Glossary. The Group agreed to submit the Handbook to the CEPEJ with a view to its adoption at the plenary meeting in June 2021. The Group recommended to give publicity to the Handbook which may be presented to the pilot courts at their next meeting scheduled for October 2021.

3.         ROLE FORACTORS OF JUSTICE IN PREVENTING DELAYS IN COURT PROCEEDINGS

3.             The CEPEJ-SATURN examined the draft guidelines for judicial time management for experts appointed by courts, lawyers, court staff, Rechtspfleger and enforcement agents. The five guidelines, which are in different stages of development, will complement the existing Revised SATURN Guidelines on judicial time management (Document CEPEJ(2018)20R). The Group decided to harmonise the language and the style of all guidelines before their submission to the CEPEJ with a view to their adoption at the meeting in December 2021.

4.             Joan Miquel RASCAGNERES (Andorra) presented the new draft Guidelines for judicial time management for lawyers (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2020)5REV2). The document was revised in the light of the comments submitted by the Council of Bars and Law Societies (CCBE). The section on mediation was revised referring to CEPEJ recommendations and guidelines on mediation while the introduction remained unchanged. A few additional comments were raised at the meeting concerning the training for lawyers and the use of information and communication technologies. The Group expressed its appreciation for the document. The Group adopted the guidelines and agreed to submit it to the CEPEJ with a view to its adoption at the plenary meeting in December 2021.

5.             Gilbert COUSTEAUX (France) presented the new draft Guidelines for judicial time management for experts appointed by courts (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2020)12REV1). The document was revised in the light of the comments received before the meeting, including from the European Expertise and Expert Institute (EEEI). These primarily concerned the use of information and communicationtechnologies by judicial experts. The Group and the EEEI expressed its appreciation for the document. The Group adopted the guidelines and agreed to submit it to the CEPEJ with a view to its adoption at the plenary meeting in December 2021.

6.             Laure LUCHETTA MYIT (Swiss) presented the new draft Guidelines for judicial time management for court staff (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2020)7REV). The document was revised in the light of comments provided at the meeting in November 2020. As a result, the guidelines are now structured around the tasks carried out by administrative and judicial non-judge staff. The Group expressed its appreciation for the document. The Group suggested to use the definition for court staff from the CEPEJ Glossary as well as to add references to the SATURN Study on case-weighting and the new Handbook on court dashboards. The Group instructed the Secretariat to consult the Network of pilot courts to collect their comments on the text before their adoption by CEPEJ-SATURN at its meeting in October 2021.

7.             Wolfgang LAEMMER (Germany) presented the draft Guidelines for judicial time management for Rechtspflegers (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2021)3) as well as his reply to the comments submitted in writing before the meeting. These primarily concerned the applicability of the guidelines to the member states where Rechtspflegers exist and the acceptance of the definition of the profession provided in the CEPEJ Glossary. The Group expressed its appreciation for the document. It was decided to revise the document to harmonise it with the other guidelines adopted as well as those under preparation.

8.             Mathieu CHARDON (France) presented the revised draft Guidelines for judicial time management for enforcement agents (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2020)6REV). The document was revised in the light of comments provided at the meeting in November 2020. The revised version provided detailed information on the role of enforcement agents in preventing delays in enforcement proceedings. The Group expressed its appreciation for the document and suggested to redraft the guidelines in order to focus exclusively on the obligations of enforcement agents in managing judicial time in accordance with Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

   

4. TRAINING CURRICULUM ON CEPEJ TOOLS ON TIMEFRAMES

9.             Marco FABRI (Italy) presented the concept note containing detailed steps for the development of a training curriculum as well as the annex containing the first draft of the training curriculum for CEPEJ tools on judicial timeframes (Document CEPEJ-SATURN(2021)5). The annex outlined different modules to present concepts, tools and examples of development, deployment, and monitoring of judicial timeframes. While the concept note is sufficiently detailed, the annex needs to be further developed to include comments from the members and the Secretariat in order to supplement it with more detailed instructions and additional materials.

10.          Ana MEDARSKA-LAZOVA presented the Council of Europe HELP on-line courses and the methodology of development of training courses. The Secretariat informed the Group of the on-going internal reflection on developing the on-line HELP course on all main CEPEJ tools. The on-line course would cover an introductory module to the CEPEJ in general and three/four modules on the selected tools developed by all the CEPEJ Working Groups. A meeting had been already scheduled between the CEPEJ and the HELP teams to discuss possible co-operation on this matter (e.g. methodology, costs and required expertise). The Group therefore decided to adjust further work on the SATURN training curriculum on timeframes in the light of the decision on the HELP course. It is agreed that the Secretariat will inform the SATURN Group of the decision taken in this respect.

5. OTHER BUSINESS

11. The next meeting of the CEPEJ-SATURN will take place on 12 – 14 October 2021. Until then, it was agreed that ad hoc meetings may be organised on different themes, according to the needs and progress of the work. This is particularly the case of the tool enabling to better analyse timeframes of judicial procedures. A taskforce may meet in the forthcoming period to advance with reflection on the tool.

ANNEX I

AGENDA / ORDRE DU JOUR

ANNEXE II LIST OF PARTICIPANTS / LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS

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MEMBERS / MEMBRES

Ivana BORZOVÁ, Head of Department of Civil Supervision, Ministry of Justice /Chef du département de la supervision civile, Ministère de la justice, Vysehradská 16, 128 10 PRAGUE 2, CZECH REPUBLIC

Ivan CRNČEC, Assistant Minister of Justice / Assistant du ministre de la justice,Ulica grada Vukovara 49, 10 000 ZAGREB, CROATIA

Francesco DEPASQUALE, Magistrate, Legal Advisor to the Director General, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs / Magistrat, conseiller spécial auprès du directeur général, Ministère de la justice et des affaires intérieures,184 St Lucia Street, VALLETTA 1189, MALTA

Vassilis ANDROULAKIS, Judge, Council of State / Juge, Conseil d’Etat ATHENS, GREECE

Giacomo OBERTO, Magistrat, Tribunal de Grande Instance, via San Francesco d'Assisi 14, 10122 TURIN, Italie (President of SATURN / Président du SATURN)

Xavier RONSIN, Premier président de la cour d'appel de Rennes, France, Apologised/Excusé

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Scientific ExpertS / Experts scientifiques

Shanee BENKIN, Scientific expert / Expert scientifique, Moshav Ein Iron 039, HADERA, ISRAEL

Gilbert COUSTEAUX, Juge, TOULOUSE, FRANCE

Marco FABRI, Research Institute on Judicial Systems, National Research Council (IRSIG-CNR) / Institut de recherche sur les systèmes judiciaires, Conseil national de la recherche, Via Zamboni 26, 40126 BOLOGNA, ITALY

Martin MIKUŠ, Analytical Centre, Ministry of Justice / Centre d’analyse, Ministère de la justice,BRATISLAVA, SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Joan Miquel RASCAGNERES, Avocat, ANDORRE

Ruth STRAGANZ-SCHROEFL, Deputy Head, Organisational development, personnel planning and controlling Department, Federal Ministry of Constitution, Reforms, Deregulation and Justice / Chef de service adjoint du département du développement organisationnel, de la planification et du contrôle du personnel,  Ministère fédéral de la Constitution, des réformes, de la déréglementation et de la justice VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Philippe THELIN, Ancien juge, GENEVE, SUISSE

INVITED DELEGATIONS / DELEGATIONS INVITEES

EGYPT / EGYPTE

Mohamed RASLAN, Vice-président, Conseil d’Etat, CAIRO

LATVIA / LETTONIE

Svetlana BEĻAJEVA, Riga Appeal Court, Judge / Juge à la cour d’appel de RIGA

Agnija KARLSONE-DJOMKINA, Head of Project Management and International Cooperation Division, Court Administration / Chef de projet à la division sur le management et la coopération internationale, administration judiciaire, Mukasalas Street 416, RIGA

MOROCCO / MAROC

Abdeljabbar SADIK, Chef de la Division des Etudes, Direction des Etudes Coopération et Modernisation, Ministère de la Justice, RABA

Mounir DELAH

SLOVAK REPUBLIC/RÉPUBLIQUE SLOVAQUE

Zuzana SCHURER PIOVARČIOVÁ, Adviser of the Analytical Unit, Ministry of Justice / Conseiller à l’unité d’analyse, Ministère de la Justice, BRATISLAVA

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OBSERVERS / OBSERVATEURS

EUROPEAN UNION OF RECHTSPFLEGER AND COURT CLERKS / UNION EUROPEENNE DES GREFFIERS DE JUSTICE (EUR)

Wolfgang LAEMMER

Jean-Jacques KUSTER, 24, rue de la Canardière, 67100 Strasbourg, FRANCE

COUNCIL OF BARS AND LAW SOCIETIES OF EUROPE / CONSEIL DES BARREAUX EUROPÉENS (CCBE)

Peter McNAMEE, Senior Legal Advisor / Conseiller juridique principal

James MacGUILL, CCBE Vice-Président

EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS / AGENCE DE L’UNION EUROPEENNE POUR LES DROITS FONDAMENTAUX 

Matylda POGORZELSKA, Freedoms and Justice Department / Département des libertés et de la justice, Schwarzenbergplatz 11, 1040 VIENNA, AUSTRIA

EUROPEAN EXPERTISE AND EUROPEAN INSTITUTE (EEEI) / INSTITUT EUROPEEN DE L’EXPERTISE ET DE L’EXPERT (EEEI) 

Alain NUEE, Alain NUEE, Président du comité d'Orientation, PARIS, FRANCE

Claude VALLET, e-mail : [email protected]

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COUNCIL OF EUROPE / CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE

SECRETARIAT

Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI) 

Direction générale droits de l’Homme et Etat de droit (DGI)

E-mail : [email protected]

Muriel DECOT, Secretary of the CEPEJ / Secrétaire de la CEPEJ, Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 44 55, e-mail: muriel.dé[email protected]

Eva KONECNA, Secretary of the Group CEPEJ-SATURN / Secrétaire du groupe CEPEJ-SATURN, Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 23 07, e-mail: e[email protected]

Milan NIKOLIC, Co-Secretary of the Group CEPEJ-SATURN / Co-Secrétaire du groupe CEPEJ-SATURN, Tel : +33(0) 88 41 22 49, e-mail : [email protected]

Jovana MATIC, Project coordinator / Coordinatrice de projet, e-mail : [email protected]

Anastasiia NOHOVITSYNA, Project coordinator / Coordinatrice de projet, e-mail : [email protected]

INTERPRETERS / INTERPRETES

BEDDOWS-LARIVIERE Amanda

BOUX Sylvie

JAIN Rémy

DI STEFANO Katia