9 November 2018

CCJE(2018)6

CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN JUDGES (CCJE)

19th plenary meeting

Zagreb (Croatia), 7-9 November 2018

ABRIDGED MEETING REPORT

A.   FOREWORD          

1.      The Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) held its 19th plenary meeting in Zagreb on 7-9 November 2018, within the framework of the Croatian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It was opened by Mr Dražen BOŠNJAKOVIĆ, Minister of Justiceof Croatia, and chaired by Duro SESSA (Croatia), President of the CCJE. The agenda and the list of participants are appended.

B.   ITEMS SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR DECISION

2.      The CCJE invited the Committee of Ministers:

a.   to take note of Opinion No. 21(2018) entitled “Preventing corruption among judges";

and to note that this document would be forwarded to the relevant bodies in the member States, which would be encouraged to translate it into appropriate languages if need be, and to the relevant bodies of the Council of Europe in order that they may take account of it in their own work;

b.   to take note of this report as a whole.

C.   LIST OF ITEMS DISCUSSED AND DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE CCJE

The CCJE

3.      warmly thanked the authorities of Croatia, and in particular the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice and the Municipal Council of Zagreb, for having hosted its plenary meeting in Zagreb;

4.      adopted its Opinion No. 21(2018) entitled “Preventing corruption among judges" (CCJE(2018)3), subject to possible amendments on the form by its Bureau, which is entrusted to have any such amendments introduced if needed, in order to ensure consistency between the English and French versions;

decided to submit it to the Committee of Ministers to take note of it; invited the member States to ensure its distribution as far as possible among decision-makers and professionals of justice, including its translation where needed;

5.      agreed that its Bureau would draft the next "Report on judicial independence and impartiality in Council of Europe member States" in 2019, following the proposal by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in the framework of his Report on the "State of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe " and contributing to the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Plan of Action on strengthening judicial independence and impartiality;

6.      noted the information of the CCJE members in respect of Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, who gave particular visibility to the work of the CCJE and allowed the CCJE's opinions to be used in national works or reforms;

7.      recalled that it was at the disposal of the Committee of Ministers and other bodies of the Council of Europe (particularly the Secretary General and the Parliamentary Assembly) to prepare opinions concerning the specific situation of judges in given member States; to that end, reiterated its invitation to its members to indicate their availability to take part in a pool of experts to be requested to work accordingly;

 

8.      decided to work in 2019 on “the role of court clerks and legal assistants within the courts and their relationships with judges” and instructed its Bureau and the select group appointed for 2019 to prepare a draft Opinion on this issue to be adopted at its 20th plenary meeting;

9.      appointed Nino BAKAKURI (Georgia), Jasmina ĆOSİĆ DEDOVİĆ (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Nils ENGSTAD (Norway), Viktor GORODOVENKO (Ukraine), Rubén Antonio JIMÉNEZ FERNÁNDEZ (Spain), Canòlic MINGORANCE CAIRAT (Andorra), Gerhard REISSNER (Austria), Leonie REYNOLDS (Ireland), Marc DE WERD (Netherlands) as members, and Maiia ROUSSEVA (Bulgaria) as substitute member to the select group (CCJE-GT) responsible for preparing the 2018 draft Opinion to be submitted to the 20th plenary meeting of the CCJE;  

10.    took note of the information by the delegations of Japan and Kazakhstan, as Observer States, as well as by its Observers, in particular the European Association of Judges (EAJ), the Magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés (MEDEL), the Association of European Administrative Judges;

11.    reiterated its invitation to the member States to appoint deputy-members to the CCJE – bearing in mind that the Council of Europe will only bear the travel and per diem for one member per delegation as regards the attendance of the meetings;

12.    re-elected Duro SESSA (Croatia) as President, and Nina BETETTO (Slovenia) as Vice-President for 2019 and elected Anke EILERS (Germany) and Kim LEWISON (United Kingdom) as members of the Bureau for a two year period;

13.    designated Mirjana POPOVIĆ (Montenegro) as Gender Equality Rapporteur for 2019;

14.    proposed to hold its 20th plenary meeting on 6-8 November 2019;

proposed to hold the 36th and 37th meetings of the select group (CCJE-GT) on 20-22 March 2019 and 19-21 June 2019 respectively.

APPENDIX I

AGENDA

1.     Adoption of the agenda

2.    Information by the President, the CCJE members and the Secretariat

Delegations are invited, in particular, to inform the CCJE on various events (since November 2017) where they have introduced the work of the CCJE.

3.    CCJE Opinion No. 21(2018)

4.    Working methods of the CCJE

5.    2019 working topic and calendar of the CCJE’s and CCJE-GT’s meetings in 2019

6.    Any other business

Appendix II

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

MEMBER STATES / ETATS MEMBRES

ANDORRA/ANDORRE

Mme Canòlic MINGORANCE CAIRAT, Μagistrat au Tribunal de Corts (chambre criminelle), Seu de la Justícia, ANDORRA LA VELLA

ARMENIA/ARMENIE

M. Stepan MIKAELYAN, Cour civile d'Appel de l'Arménie, YEREVAN

(apologised/excusé)

AUSTRIA/AUTRICHE

Mr Gerhard REISSNER, Vice-President of the Austrian Association of Judges, President of the District Court of Floridsdorf, VIENNA

AZERBAIJAN/AZERBAIDJAN

Mr Khagani MAMMADOV, Judge of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, BAKU

BELGIUM/BELGIQUE

M. Paul MAFFEI, Président de la Cour de Cassation, Palais de Justice, BRUXELLES

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA/BOSNIE-HERZEGOVINE

Ms Jasmina ĆOSİĆ DEDOVİĆ, Judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Criminal Division), SARAJEVO

BULGARIA/BULGARIE

Ms Maiia ROUSSEVA, Judge, Supreme Court of Cassation, SOFIA

CROATIA/CROATIE

Mr Duro SESSA, President of the CCJE, President of the Supreme Court of Croatia, ZAGREB

CYPRUS/CHYPRE

Mr Stelios NATHANAEL, Judge of the Supreme Court, NICOSIA

CZECH REPUBLIC/REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE

Mr Luboš DÖRFL, President of the Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem, ÚSTÍ NAD LABEM

 

DENMARK/DANEMARK:

Ms Linda LAURITSEN, Judge, City Court of Roskilde, ROSKILDE

Ms Lene Pagter KRISTENSEN, Judge of the Supreme Court, COPENHAGEN

ESTONIA/ESTONIE

Mr Meelis EERIK, President of the Regional Court of Civil and Criminal Matters in Tallinn, TALLINN

FINLAND/FINLANDE

Mr Kimmo VANNE, Judge of the Turku Court of Appeal, Chairman of the Union of Judges of Finland, TURKU, Finland

 

France

M. Alain LACABARATS, Président de Chambre, Cour de Cassation, PARIS

(apologised/excusé)

GEORGIA/GEORGIE

Ms Nino BAKAKURI, Judge of the Supreme Court, TBILISI

GERMANY/ALLEMAGNE

Ms Anke EILERS, Presiding Judge, Court of Appeal, KÖLN

GREECE/GRECE

Ms Sofia KARISTINEOU-MAGOULA, Judge, Supreme Court of Civil and Penal Law (Areios Pagos), THESSALONIKI

HUNGARY/HONGRIE

Dr. Árpád OROSZ, Judge, Deputy Head of the Civil Department of the Curia of Hungary, BUDAPEST

ICELAND/ISLANDE

Mr Justice Benedikt BOGASON, Supreme Court of Iceland, Chairman of the Judicial Council, REYKJAVIK  

IRELAND/IRLANDE

Mr George BIRMINGHAM, Judge of the Court of Appeal of Ireland, DUBLIN

The Hon. Ms Justice Leonie REYNOLDS, The High Court, Four Courts, DUBLIN

ITALY/ITALIE

Mr Raffaele SABATO, Councillor of the Supreme Court of Cassation, ROME

Ms Concetta GRILLO, Member of the Italian High Council for the Judiciary, ROME

LATVIA/LETTONIE

Ms Aija BRANTA, Judge, Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia, RIGA

LIECHTENSTEIN

M. Dietmar BAUR, Juge, Cour de Justice, Fürstliches Landgericht, VADUZ

LITHUANIA/LITUANIE

Mr Vigintas VIŠINSKIS, Juge of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Lithuania, VILNIUS

Luxembourg

M. Jean-Claude WIWINIUS, Président de la Cour Supérieure de Justice du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg et Président de la Cour Constitutionnelle, LUXEMBOURG

 

Mme Marianne HARLES, Premier Conseiller à la Cour d’appel, Cour Supérieure de Justice, LUXEMBOURG

MALTA/MALTE

Mr Justice Tonio MALLIA, Judge, Court of Appeal, VALLETTA

MONACO

M. Jérôme FOUGERAS-LAVERGNOLLE, Premier Juge, Président du Tribunal Correctionnel, MONACO

MONTENEGRO/MONTENEGRO

Ms Mirjana POPOVIĆ, Judge, High Court of Podgorica, PODGORICA

NETHERLANDS/PAYS-BAS

Prof. Dr. Marc DE WERD, Judge in the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, Professor of European Law at Maastricht University, MAASTRICHT

NORWAY/NORVEGE

Mr Nils Asbjorn ENGSTAD, Judge, Hålogaland Court of Appeal, TROMSØ

Mr Wiggo Storhaug LARSSEN, Judge of the Gulating Court of Appeal in Bergen, President of the Norwegian Association of Judges, BERGEN

POLAND/POLOGNE

Mr Maciej MITERA, Judge, Ph.D., President of the District Court Warszawa-Środmieście in Warsaw, member and spokesperson of the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland, WARSAW

PORTUGAL

M. Orlando AFONSO, Juge à la Cour Suprême, LISBONNE

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA /REPUBLIC DE MOLDOVA

Mr Radu ŢURCANU, Chairman of Chișinău Court, CHISINAU

ROMANIA/ROUMANIE

Mme Rodica Aida POPA, Juge et docteur en droit, Haute Cour de Cassation et de Justice de la Roumanie (section criminelle), BUCAREST

RUSSIAN FEDERATION/FÉDÉRATION DE RUSSIE

Mr Viktor MOMOTOV, Justice of the Supreme Court, MOSCOW

(apologised/excusé)

SERBIA/SERBIE

Ms Spomenka ZARIĆ, Judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation, BELGRADE

 

SLOVAKIA/SLOVAQUIE

Mr František MOZNER, Presiding Judge of the Supreme Court (Criminal Division), BRATISLAVA

SLOVENIA/SLOVENIE

Ms Nina BETETTO, Vice-President of the CCJE, Judge of the Supreme Court, LJUBLJANA

SPAIN/ESPAGNE

Mr Rubén Antonio JIMÉNEZ FERNÁNDEZ, Senior Judge, President of the Social Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Murcia, MURCIA

SWEDEN/SUEDE

Mr Mats MELIN, President of the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court, STOCKHOLM

Ms Eva WENDEL ROSBERG, Chief Judge, Malmö District Court, MALMÖ

SWITZERLAND/SUISSE

Mme Kathrin KLETT, Juge fédéral suprême, 1ère Cour de Droit Civil, Tribunal fédéral suisse, LAUSANNE

“THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA”/“L’EX-REPUBLIQUE  YOUGOSLAVE DE MACEDOINE”

Ms Aneta ARNAUDOVSKA, Judge LL.M., Director of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, SKOPJE

TURKEY/TURQUIE

Mr Yaşar ŞİMŞEK, Senior Judge, Member of the First Chamber, Member of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, ANKARA

Ms Emine Burcu SINOPLU, Rapporteur Judge, Foreign Affairs and Project Bureau, Council of Judges and Prosecutors, ANKARA

Ms Cağlayan SAYHAN SOYDAN, Interpreter

UKRAINE

Mr Viktor GORODOVENKO, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, KYIV

UNITED KINGDOM/ ROYAUME-UNI

Lord Justice Kim LEWISON, Royal Courts of Justice, LONDON

SCIENTIFIC EXPERT / EXPERT SCIENTIFIQUE

Dr Rainer HORNUNG-JOST, Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Lörrach Prosecution Office, Former Director of the German Judicial Academy,LÖRRACH, GERMANY

(apologised/excusé)

OBSERVER STATES/ ETATS OBSERVATEURS

JAPAN / JAPON

Mr Hiroshi KOIKE, Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan, Liaison Office, Secretary Division, General Secretariat, Supreme Court of Japan, TOKYO

 Mr Akira MORITA, Judge, Osaka District Court, Liaison Office, Secretary Division, General Secretariat, Supreme Court of Japan, TOKYO

Mr Kosuke YUKI, Consul, Consulate General of Japan in Strasbourg, Consulate General of Japan in Strasbourg, STRASBOURG, France

Ms Kazuko YOSHIDA, Interpreter

KAZAKHSTAN

Mr Madiyar BALKEN, Judge of the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan, ASTANA

OBSERVERS / OBSERVATEURS

European Association of Judges / Association européenne des magistrats (EAJ /AEM)

Mr Gerhard REISSNER, Vice-President of the Austrian Association of Judges, President of the District Court of Floridsdorf, VIENNA, Austria

Magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés (MEDEL)

Mr Filipe MARQUES, President of MEDEL, BERLIN, Germany

Association of European Administrative Judges/ Fédération européenne des juges administratifs (AEAJ / FEJA)

M. Pierre VINCENT, Président de formation de jugement à la Cour nationale du droit d'asile (CNDA), MONTREUIL, France

Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe / Conseil des barreaux européens (CCBE)

Mr Ranko PELICARIC, Vice-President of the CCBE, BRUSSELS, Belgium

European Network of Councils of the Judiciary /Réseau européen des conseils de la justice (ENCJ / RECJ)

Mr Damir KONTREC, Executive Board member of the ENCJ, member of the Croatian State Judicial Council, ZAGREB, Croatia

European Judicial Training Network / Réseau européen de formation judiciaire (EJTN /REFJ)

Ms Andrea POSAVEC FRANIĆ, Director of the Judicial Academy of Croatia, European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), ZAGREB, Croatia

OTHER PARTICIPANTS / AUTRES PARTICIPANTS

Ms Erin JACKSON, Researcher, Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance, Institute of Jurisprudence, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Utrecht University, Netherlands

 

COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S SECRETARIAT / SECRETARIAT DU CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE

Directorate General I –Human Rights and Rule of Law - Division for the independence and the efficiency of Justice /

Direction Générale I –Droits de l’Homme et Etat de Droit - Division pour l'indépendance et l'efficacité de la justice

(CCJE E-mail : [email protected])

M. Stéphane LEYENBERGER, Secretary to the CCJE / Secrétaire du CCJE

Tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 34 12, E-mail: sté[email protected]

Mr Artashes MELIKYAN, Co-Secretary of the CCJE /Co-Secrétaire du CCJE

Tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 47 60, E-mail: [email protected]

Mme Annette SATTEL, Administration and Networks / Administration et Réseaux

Tel: + 33 (0)3 88 41 39 04, E-mail: [email protected]

Ms Despina TRAMOUNTANI, Assistant / Assistante

Tel : +33 (0)3 90 21 62 95, Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 50 33

E-mail: [email protected]

Mr Vlado DEDOVIĆ, Senior Project Officer, “Accountability of the Judicial System” European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey, Council of Europe Programme Office, Podgorica, Montenegro

INTERPRETERS / INTERPRÈTES

Ms Ņives CURIĆ

Ms Jagade LUKAVAC

Ms Zvjezdana KASTRAPELI

Mr Toni LUBURIĆ