First European Permanent Council of the UIHJ in the South Caucasus

The Beginning of a Strong Partnership

Each spring, the UIHJ holds a permanent council specifically focused on European issues. This year Georgia was chosen to host the thirty delegations coming from Europe and also from America.
During two days, representatives members of the UIHJ countries met to exchange, learn about the achievements of the UIHJ, and discuss on-going projects but also problems judicial officers face in their countries. A Council of European Presidents was held to address specific projects addressed by its board.
In Georgia judicial officers are liberal or state employed. The state employed colleagues grouped in the National Bureau of Enforcement Committee (NBE) had the task to organize the event, and indeed the organization was perfect.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, director of NBE, welcomed all the delegations. He wished them a pleasant stay in Georgia. He said he was particularly pleased that the Permanent Council of the UIHJ could be held in Tbilisi. This is the first time ever that a permanent council stands in the Caucasus. In this regard, Mr Sarjveladze thanked Tea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice of Georgia, who, despite a very full schedule, wanted personally to honour with her presence the work of the UIHJ.
Ms Tsulukiani welcomed the coming of the UIHJ in Georgia. She wished everyone welcome in her country. The Minister of Justice stated that, as part of extensive reforms that were initiated in Georgia, "we attach great importance that judicial decisions are enforced within a reasonable time." Citing the European Court of Human Rights, a court she knows very well, having worked there for ten years, she recalled that a country that has no effective judicial system performance simply cannot claim to have a judicial system at all. And addressing the NBE: "Your presence and your willingness to share best practices only one year after having joined the UIHJ is the sign of the beginning of a strong partnership." Praising the accomplishments of the NBE, Ms Tsulukiani acknowledged that it strives to be always more efficient. The justice minister went on saying that the presence of the UIHJ in Georgia was very important not only in terms of enforcement issues, but also to promote statements of facts by carried out by judicial officers, recently introduced in Georgian law "very useful in helping us to improve the work of justice." Ms Tsulukiani concluded her speech by wishing good work to all and thanking the UIHJ and its president, Leo Netten, for its support for Georgia.

The Commitment of the UIHJ to the European Institutions

Leo Netten thanked the Minister of Justice for her presence at the opening session of the Permanent Council, a testimony of unwavering support of the Georgian government on issues relating to the enforcement of court decisions. The president of the UIHJ recalled that in 1980 the UIHJ decided to establish a European permanent council to deal with issues of concern to the profession especially at European level. He noted that the first permanent council was held in Glasgow, in the extreme northwest of the European member countries of the UIHJ. Today, twenty-three years later, the permanent council is held at the extreme south-eastern part of its European member countries. He continued by noting that the presence of the UIHJ in the South Caucasus dates back nearly fifteen years ago. In the early 2000s, the UIHJ participated in missions of expertise for the Council of Europe in Georgia and Armenia. In 2005, the UIHJ for the first time won a contract for the enforcement of court decisions in the context of judicial reforms in Azerbaijan. From 2010 UIHJ experts participated in a TAIEX project in Georgia. Contacts with the NBE then became regular.
President Netten reported another major project with the participation of the UIHJ, and carried out during the recent months in Georgia: the BESTT project (for Better Enforcement System Through Twinning), a EU funded project and carried out by the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) in cooperation with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the NBE and the UIHJ. He said the project, including the closing conference was held the day before was a great success.
Recognizing that the NBE is a great body of efficiency and competence, Leo Netten praised the former NBE director, Nika Melia, for his work, as well as its new director, Mikheil Sarjveladze, wishing him to further develop the actions that were conducted.
To put the actions of the UIHJ in context, President Netten recalled the EU summit in Tampere in October 1999. It was during this historic summit that the Council of the European Union decided to create an area of freedom, security and justice. In 2000, the first European cross-border instruments were created: service of documents and the recognition and enforcement of judgments. Others followed: European Enforcement Order, European Order for Payment, setting of evidence, small claims regulation, and maintenance obligations. Others are still in gestation: European attachment of bank accounts, and transparency of assets.
"Since then, continued Leo Netten, we are committed to the European Union in a cooperation phase. The European Community has quickly realized that this area of freedom, security and justice could not be set without the support and assistance of professionals". As regards enforcement, he said, the European Commission asked the UIHJ to participate in the European Judicial Network since its creation in 2002. "We were able to contribute that the profession of judicial officer is now member of the European Judicial Network at domestic level."
The cooperation also exists in the wider Europe, continued Leo Netten. The UIHJ participated in the development of Recommendation Rec(2003)17 of 9 September 2003 of the Council of Europe on enforcement. It also participated in the development of the CEPEJ Guidelines of 17 December 2009 on enforcement. Since the 2000s, the UIHJ has participated in dozens of missions with the Council of Europe, mostly funded by the European Commission. This cooperation also goes beyond the borders of Europe he noted. "Last week, we participated in a mission in Morocco in the framework of the South Programme: Strengthening democratic reform in the Southern Neighbourhood. This program, funded by the European Union is operated by the Council of Europe and the CEPEJ. "
The president of the UIHJ also reported that the Troika requires the expertise of the UIHJ as in Greece and Portugal. Cooperation agreements have also been initiated with universities, first with the University of Mendoza (Argentina) in October 2012. A second cooperation agreement will be signed at the end of May 2013 with the University of Valencia in Spain. "These agreements will facilitate and enhance the work of the Union in the context of scientific work" promised Leo Netten.
He recalled the history of the Union began with a long construction phase. "During this phase, we have worked tirelessly to develop and structure our international action to get recognition on the international scene. This phase lasted until the early 2000s. Then we entered a phase of cooperation. Now, it is the institutions and international organizations that come to us. We show every day by our dynamism and our work that we are a force that can always be relied on. Our experts are recognized for their expertise and reliability. You know, the strength of a project depends on the experts. "

A New Era of Proposals for the UIHJ

The president of the UIHJ then pointed out that the UIHJ has entered a new era, an era of proposals. The Guidelines on enforcement contain the essence of the recommendations of the UIHJ as regards enforcement and how enforcement should be carried out by enforcement agents. "Together, we can bring these Guidelines to life".
For this, actions must be taken on several levels, in a concerted manner. In Europe, at domestic level, he urged the heads of delegation to promote the guidelines adopted by the ministers of the Council of Europe. "At European level, through our projects, we propose models. These models serve as a basis for reforms. The models we propose result of the work of an organization whose reputation is well established, an organization that is not perceived as proselytizing for the profession of judicial officer, but as a partner who works to promote justice and development: the UIHJ".
The president of the UIHJ thanked all those who have personally invested in projects. He invited everyone to get involved even more. "You will help your country providing individuals a more knowledgeable better trained enforcement professional, a professional whose work will be wider. You will help your profession in your country to develop and perpetuate around a coherent model, the CEPEJ model and therefore that of the UIHJ. "
Continuing his speech, Leo Netten said that since its inception ten years ago, the CEPEJ publishes every two years a report on the efficiency of justice in Europe. One aspect of this report concerns enforcement but it only addresses some of its aspects. Through its Grand questionnaire on the profession prepared for the Cape Town Congress in 2012, the UIHJ now has a unique and comprehensive information database about the profession. Leo Netten has announced that the UIHJ would make a report dedicated to the efficiency of enforcement and the profession of judicial officer, a project that was presented to the CEPEJ a few days ago where it received a very positive reception. Moreover, this project is in line with the Scoreboard of the European Union, whose first edition was to be presented shortly. The president of the UIHJ welcomed the new presidents of national organizations of judicial officers:
- Scotland: Kevin MacKay
- Georgia: Mikheil Sarjveladze
- Greece: Preketes Eftimios
- Latvia Andris Spore
- Lithuania Aleksandras Slezniovas
- Serbia: Mihail Dragovic
- Slovakia: Miroslav Paller
He ended his speech by recalling that Nadhir Ben Ammou, member of the Scientific Council of the UIJH, was appointed on 8 March 2013 Minister of Justice of Tunisia. "After Jacqueline Lohoues Oble, Justice Minister of Côte d'Ivoire between 1990 and 1993, the Scientific Council is particularly proud today to have two justice ministers among its twelve members," he said before thanking again the NBE for its hospitality and wish everyone a great permanent council and a pleasant stay in Tbilisi!

Soft Enforcement

After the call of delegations by Louis-Raymond Maranda, secretary of the board of the UIHJ, the approvals of the agenda and the minutes of the Permanent Council of The Hague in 2011, a report was presented on relations with international organizations. Françoise Andrieux, general secretary of the UIHJ noted the recent work of the European Law Institute (ELI), of which the UIHJ is a founding member. She recalled that the European and international institutions involved in ELI meetings. A draft prepared by the UIHJ, entitled "Soft Enforcement" will be submitted to the Council of the ELI. The idea is to offer alternatives to civil and commercial enforcement. The overall objective is to avoid traumatic and unfavourable issues for the parties by strengthening enforcement of contract law. There are four objectives:
- Involvement of enforcement;
- Declaration and identification of goods;
- Establishment of securities;
- Compliance with commitments.
Françoise Andrieux also reported that ELI, headquartered in Vienna (Austria), decided to create national branches to allow the holding of work in small groups. The first office was opened in Paris.
Mathieu Chardon, 1st secretary of the UIHJ mentioned the three major events at the Council of Europe for the judicial officer profession. In December 2012 was held the 20th plenary meeting of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice of the Council of Europe (CEPEJ), celebrating its 10th anniversary. On this occasion the fourth report of the CEPEJ on the efficiency and quality of justice was presented. On 10 April 2013 the UIHJ presented to the CEPEJ its draft report on the efficiency of enforcement President Netten mentioned in his speech. Finally, in the program "Strengthening democratic reform in the Southern Neighbourhood" (South Program) funded by the European Union and operated by the Council of Europe, the CEPEJ has requested the expertise of the CEPEJ as part of a mission to Casablanca (Morocco) from 15 to 19 April 2013. This mission was, in the light of a report prepared by Mathieu Chardon during a previous mission in 2012 to explore ways to improve the service of documents in Morocco.
Leo Netten said he participated in early April 2012 at the 125th anniversary of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, in The Hague (the Netherlands). Hans van Loon, Secretary General of the Hague Conference will enjoy a well-deserved retirement in July 2013. A warm tribute was paid to him by all the participants. A Liber Amicorum written for his attention was handed to him.
Then Françoise Andrieux referred to the meeting held at the European Commission on 10 April 2013 in Brussels. The theme was training. It was to bring together professionals and academics. The UIHJ was required to provide a delegation of ten people. The first session dealt with the organization and promotion of European training with two workshops (exchange and needs assessment, the role of networks of European legislation in the context of the assessment of training needs). The second session involved the cooperation and the promotion with two workshops (cooperation between the institutions of legal training, how to promote a legal culture). The UIHJ mentioned its experience in this field, in particular through the European training day which was set up six years ago. The organizers of the day asked President Netten be the rapporteur for one of the workshops. The General Secretary of the UIHJ announced that a new questionnaire on training would be sent by the UIHJ to each EU delegation at the request of the European Commission. She thanked everyone in advance to respond as soon as possible.

Promoting the World Code of Enforcement

Bernard Menut, first vice president of the UIHJ, reported on the meetings held at the United Nations Commission for the Development of International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in New York in which he participated with Sue Collins, member of the board of the UIHJ. He felt it was important to be present at these meetings to ensure "the promotion of ideas including our World Code of Enforcement." Sue Collins added that theUIHJ was invited to participate in the UNCITRAL working group on conflict resolution, enabling contacts and strengthening the presence of the UIHJ. Jos Uitdehaag, First Secretary of the UIHJ, went on to say that he went with Sue Collins in December 2012 at the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington, during the week of the Global Forum on Law, Justice and development. Many organizations and associations were present. The links between UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT and the World Bank are constant. The problem of the global crisis is concerned with the protection of debtors, business and personal bankruptcies, and of course enforcement of court decisions. The World Bank has asked the UIHJ to write an evaluation report on enforcement in some countries, said Jos Uitdehaag. There is also the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which has 186 member countries. These organizations are interested in enforcement and securities. They are very direct. They developed models, particularly in Africa. They need the experience of the UIHJ because they cannot find enough people who have enough experience in training. There is also the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), which is associated with the European Union. The European Union is very interested in what happens in other countries. The BESTT project is also a result of the Neighbourhood Policy. "We started two years ago with the countries of Central Europe", said Jos Uitdehaag. This concerned the civil and commercial law of the countries of the former Yugoslavia but also countries such as Greece. The idea is to have a European convention for the enforcement of cross-border court decisions based on the Lugano Convention. "We will begin and once the project is fully agreed, it will be signed by these countries. The European Court of Human Rights began a relationship with us several times to prepare texts ", said the first secretary of the UIHJ. He concluded: "We are consultants with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for example, in Portugal, as regards enforcement. A number of organizations as you can see are interested in our expertise ".
On the Caribbean region, Sue Collins, reported that she had met at the UNCITRAL several people working on the project Ohadac (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in the Caribbean). Luis Ortega Alcubierre, deputy secretary of the board of the UIHJ said to have contacts with the Ministry of Justice of Chile. He mentioned the cooperation agreement with the University of Mendoza in Argentina. He also reported to be in contact with the Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Americas (CEJA). A conference held in August 2013 in Buenos Aires will be attended by the UIHJ.

Council of European Presidents

Following these presentations the Council of European Presidents was opened. In his introduction, Bernard Menut mentioned the Aphrodite project, initiated during the previous meeting of European presidents in Cyprus in October 2012. The first vice-president of the UIHJ explained its genesis. Everyone knows the Doing Business report, "the classification made by the Americans to rank countries and to ensure that we can identify the countries with which it will be easier to do business". In Doing Business, a portion concerns legal aspects and the judiciary, including the length of the trial. The indicators on the length of the trial are not very refined. They are rather crude. The CEPEJ, in turn, produces every two years a report concerning 47 countries that are classified in terms of their legal system. We learn in this report which countries have a higher ratio of lawyers per inhabitants; that it's easier to solve a case in one country, and that legal aid can more easily be obtained in one country rather than another. Enforcement is mentioned, but the data are mainly on the number of professionals in each country, or their status but eventually little information on the business heart of judicial officers, time, duration, procedures, etc. The idea of Aphrodite, continued Bernard Menut, is to report on enforcement. This report would have a periodicity of two years to make it stick to the CEPEJ report. “Why doing such a job?” He asked. There are several interests. The first is to position the UIHJ as the only organization capable of gathering data on enforcement in different countries. Currently it is the governments that give information. For Doing Business, the information is provided by a network of lawyers. "Regarding enforcement we will work on this report and the data contained is in the Grand questionnaire of the UIHJ". "The other benefit of this work is to help you work towards your governments. For example, if access on transparency of assets is difficult or expensive in your country, we know that your country is in the back of the pack. It will show examples of countries that have good practices. The data in this report will be useful and can be used in your country for your ministers of justice".
Bernard Menut unveiled the eight blocks that form the heart of the report:
- The preparation of the enforcement;
- The information available on transparency of assets;
- List of securities existing in each country;
- Enforcement agents;
- The carrying out of enforcement;
- The cost of enforcement;
- Enforcement time and possible challenges;
- Supervision, monitoring, sanctions and ethical rules.
"We are very confident in the project's goal, announced the first vice president of the UIHJ. The idea is to publish at the same time as the CEPEJ the report on enforcement. We will use its resonance to put pressure on governments more and more. "
Among the Stobra projects the European Council of Presidents of the UIHJ, two were the subject of workshops: Stobra 6 (e-Justice) and Stobra 3 (Transparency of assets).
In the workshop on e-Justice Bernard Menut explained that the activities of the countries in this area are really low. In 2007, the European Union wanted to conduct a study on the use of information technology and communication (ICT) in the field of justice. The European Union has announced the creation of the e-Justice portal on the Internet. The goal is to allow substantial economies of scale, improve quality of services and to enable citizens and professionals to have access to practical information on any aspect of the justice sector. Through e-Justice, the EU is promoting tools such as video conferencing for courts or witnesses. However, enforcement procedures or electronic service of documents seem little affected by the project. "Where are the texts that govern e-Justice?" Asks the first vice president of the UIHJ. "With a closer look, there is no specific text to frame e-justice". For Bernard Menut, with regard to the profession of judicial officer e-Justice include five elements:
- e-Access: promotion of electronic access to information on the debtor, without intermediary;
- e-Title: court decision in an electronic format. It is this decision that the judicial officers will be required to enforce;
- e-Service: the service or electronic service of document by the judicial officer;
- e-Enforcement: enforcement carried out electronically. This is the heart of the work of judicial officers. In this regard, a lack of practice - or a mixed practice - and few texts are noted;
- e-Auction: electronic auction. This only concerns a few countries, such as Georgia or Hungary. These countries, well advanced in this field, are quite isolated.
Then, the first vice-president presented in detail each of these sections, outlining step by step difficulties and issues raised by each of the topics.
The workshop on transparency of assets that followed was led by David Walker, member of the board of the UIHJ and project manager, and Françoise Andrieux.
Guillaume Payan, lecturer at the University of Maine (France) and UIHJ consultant, presented and commented in detail the European Parliament resolution of 10 May 2011 with recommendations to the Commission on proposed interim measures for the freezing and disclosure of debtors' assets in cross-border cases, as well as the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European order for the seizure of bank accounts of 25 July 2011.
David Walker focused on the work of the UIHJ relating to transparency of assets. He recalled that the first international conference on this issue was organized by the UIHJ on 14 and 15 October 1999 in Paris, with the support of the European Commission under the Grotius Program (The transparency of assets, a necessary and sufficient European Interlocutory Title?). On 17 September 2003, the Council of Europe issued recommendations on enforcement, which included a section on transparency of assets and access to information. During the International Congress of the judicial officers in Washington in May 2006, the UIHJ wished that judicial officers have a full access to information about the debtor's assets as part of their enforcement mission. In the same vein, the international congress of the judicial officers of Marseille in September 2009 stated that debtors should declare the goods on which will run. Finally, the CEPEJ guidelines of 17 December 2009, also refers to the access on information on the debtor's assets by enforcement agents, in sections 40-42. Then David Walker questioned whether if it was possible to define common standards in the field. He then commented on the questionnaire prepared by the UIHJ and handed to the member countries of the UIHJ, thanking the eight countries at the time of the Permanent Council having already answered, and inviting others to complete it to allow the working group of the project to analyse the report and prepare recommendations.
A discussion was then held with the participants. Each country this could explain the current situation in its legislation.
In Sweden, Olof Dahnell explained that the Ministry of Finance gives a lot of information to judicial officers, if the person lives alone or not, the number of children, the amount of taxes, wages, real estate, etc. Banks and employers are also required to provide information.
In Germany, Werner Blaskowitz said that since 1 January 2013, the judicial officer can enquire directly to various agencies (vehicle files, etc.).
In Spain, Luis Ortega informed the participants that it is possible to file an application with the debtor to obtain a declaration of assets, under penalty or a fine, but the law is not enforced. An overdue reform should allow Procuradores to have direct access to information from public records and relevant agencies (immovable, vehicles, bank accounts, titles, salaries, pensions, employers, home, etc.).
For Portugal, José Carlos Resende, President of the National Council of Solicitadores, acknowledged that the computerized search system is operating in his country. A bill is currently allowing the judicial officer to search while informing the debtor of this enquiry within a period of three months. He hoped that this system will be extended to the entire profession and suggested that the UIHJ propose this principle to the CEPEJ.
For Zolt Orell (Hungary), it is useless to ask the debtor to provide information on his assets. He explained that in Hungary, software has been developed allowing judicial officers, through electronic signatures, access to all records and information, while subject to strict ethical rules.
Mihail Dragovic, President of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Serbia, announced the major changes in his country. The judicial officer may ask the court information about the debtor's assets. Unfortunately, the system is inefficient due to courts congestion. Judicial officers may ask banks information. They have then an obligation to respond, otherwise they will be fined. The biggest problem is that it is not possible to get the identification number of the debtor. A lot oftimeis wasted in finding information. The creditor cannot get this information out of respect for privacy.
In Quebec, Louis-Raymond Maranda regretted that judicial officers have no access to information about the debtor: "To enforce a judgment, if you want information, you have to hire a private investigator. In 2008, we have criticised this. In the reform of civil proceedings, banks and agencies shall cooperate with the judicial officers to provide information. This will be a great step forward, but for now we do not have access to anything".
With regard to France, Patrick Safar, deputy treasurer of the board of the National Chamber of Judicial officers, mentioned the recent 2010 changes. French judicial officers therefore have direct access in all jurisdictions, while noting that "some problems remain unsolved”.
To conclude this workshop very rich in exchanges, David Walker thanked Guillaume Payan and all participating countries. He invited all European countries to participate in the next Stobra workshop on transparency of assets.

Activities Report and Institute Jacques Isnard

Regarding the activities of the European branches of the UIHJ, Françoise Andrieux said that the UIHJ would benefit from the appointment of Ben Naadhir Ammou as Minister of Justice to organize the next UIHJ-EuroMed meeting in Tunisia.
As regards UIHJ-EuroDanube, its secretary, Zolt Orell gave an account of the last seminar where each country reported on legislative progress. In Hungary, some minor law changes have been recorded. On tariff changes are expected, but unfortunately probably resulting in alowering, despite the fact that it is in place since 1995. He also referred to some recent problems with the media. The situation was the same in Estonia but has now returned to normal. In the Czech Republic, new rules on the enforcement are in place since the beginning of the year. Zolt Orell found them to be positive. He said that there is now no more mixed system and only independent judicial officers remain in the Czech Republic. The system of electronic auction was established in 2012 and is satisfactory.
As regards Slovakia and Latvia, he recalled the election of new presidents and their wished them good work. Finally, the UIHJ-EuroDanube Secretary announced the organization of a football competition for the eleven countries of this branch of the UIHJ...
Following him, Olof Dahnell, Permanent Delegate of the UIHJ for the Scandinavian countries gave an account of the activities of judicial officers in the region.
In Finland, the organization of the profession will be changed. The Department of Justice asked the Finnish Enforcement Authority (FEA) to make proposals for a new organization with new ways of working. A report has been lodged on 13 March 2013. The object is to improve the efficiency of enforcement. The number of offices is to be reduced while enforcement fee should be increased to allow for self-management service.
Norway is not facing particular difficulties, but the organization of the enforcement is likely to be amended in the future. Today, the service is run by the police. Separation could be considered. A report on this issue is expected in June 2013.
In Denmark, as of 1 July 2013, the courts may serve documents by phone. In case of failure, the ordinary means of communication will be used.
Finally, Olof Dahnell recalled that Sweden has been particularly active in Georgia over the past three years in two projects. The first concerns the organization, management and mapping process. The second concerns BESTT in which he worked with Jos Uitdehaag and Bernard Menut for eighteen months. He noted that the reactivity of the Georgian Government was such that it was sometimes difficult to follow the legislative reforms that accompanied the ideas very quickly under construction. Currently, discussions concern the creation of a code of enforcement, which was presented at the eve of the closing of the project.
Activities of UIHJ since the Permanent Council of November 2012 have been presented as usual by Francoise Andrieux and Mathieu Chardon. Then the BESTT project, the closing ceremony of which was held on the previous day, was honoured by Eric Vincken (CILC) and Thomas Schmidt, project coordinator. In particular, the Tool Kit for the Rule of Law was unveiled on this occasion. This Tool Kit highlights the best practices in enforcement. It was created for the project but is intended to be used by all. Eric Vincken thanked all participants of the project: NBE, CILC, the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the UIHJ and the experts the contribution of which was “fundamental”.
Jacques Isnard, former President and Honorary President of the UIHJ, referred to the Institute that bears his name to explain once again the targets. To start with, president Isnard declared that he was "amazed by the volume of activities, with the work done by the UIHJ and results". "I feel that the work started by Baudoin Gielen and pursued is that of one of the largest organizations in the world", he continued. The Scientific Council of the UIHJ was created several years ago to associate closely with the academic work of the UIHJ. It is based on the work of the Scientific Council and the World Code of Enforcement (WCE) will be developed. "This is a very ambitious project" declared Jacques Isnard. "This text will contain a number of items but give the principles of enforcement, such as guidelines. It would be great if the UIHJ could establish such a document that can be used by the economic, bank or university sectors. This requires progress in the relationships we have with global organizations. With the help of these organizations, making contacts with countries not yet members of the UIHJ until the Madrid Congress, Madrid we will be the starting point of the World Code of enforcement ratified by major global organizations. "

Intervention of Delegations

Heads of delegations who wished could intervene. Louis-Raymond Maranda referred to the Montreal conference in October 2012 on dematerialization. "The goal was to show the court players in Quebec including the Ministry of Justice, the Bar and judges, how late the judiciary of Quebec was" he said. "Judicial officers are creating a new technological area. They should be the trusted third parties”.
George Mitsis, vice president of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Greece, said that despite the great difficulties the country is facing, there is "hope following the significant achievements". "At the cost of great efforts, we have changed the access to the profession. In the last law, legal education at a law school is compulsory. At the end of next year we will have access to the profession with the new operating system of examination. We filled the gaps set by the CEPEJ and we are proud of that" he said. It is now also possible for Greek judicial officers working within the civil society to provide better services to litigants. The members of the Troika favoured the introduction of statements of facts in Greece to speed up justice. George Mitsis reported they are convinced that mediation should be carried out by judicial officers, as they have connections with the debtor while acting impartially. He conveyed the greetings of Dionysios Kriaris, former President of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Greece and member of the board of the UIHJ currently prevented. He thanked the UIHJ for all of its work in favour of the profession. He announced the election of the new president, Eftimios Preketes who occupies once again this high position. He concluded by personally thanking all the board of the UIHJ and its president for "its continued support in our efforts to improve the profession of judicial officer in Greece and worldwide. I want to emphasize once more the unity of the UIHJ, the only organization that can ensure the future of the profession".
The President of the National Chamber of Judicial officers of Hungary, Miklos Krejniker, recalled that one of the objectives of the UIHJ is to promote training, which is included in the Stockholm Programme. The National Chamber of Judicial officers of Hungary mentioned the training project funded by the European Union in cooperation with the UIHJ. The first seminar was held in Budapest on 8 and 9 April 2013. President Netten was in attendance. The next seminar will be held on 22 and 23 May 2013 on Brussels I Regulation. President Krejniker said that it is possible to twenty members UIHJ to participate, costs being fully covered.
In Poland, a new law fully liberalize access to profession. It should enter into force in September 2012. After a university degree and two years of training, the candidate may request his appointment to the Department of Justice in the area of his choice. Currently there are about 1150 judicial officers in Poland. This number could reach 2,000, he estimated.

The Professionalism of the NBE

The permanent council ended with the announcement of the upcoming events for the coming months. At the end of the meeting, Mikheil Sarjveladze thanked the UIHJ for choosing Georgia as host country of the permanent council. "This event is something very important. It is a support for each judicial officer. For them it means a new horizon opens before them, in the field of vocational training, professional standards, which is fully appreciated", he said, expressing the gratitude of the NBE and Georgia.
Leo Netten replied in these words: "When we decided to come to Georgia, we knew we were going to have a meeting that would be different. Barely a year ago, we were in the phase of the BESTT project. We saw your professionalism which is impressive. I found this family spirit and I am very happy. We can do what we do because of you. There are new faces here who appear very interested in the UIHJ. We can integrate them into our panel. Thanks to the NBE. Thanks to the participants of the BESTT project and the Swedish judicial officers. It was a pleasure working with you. Thanks to CILC and to all those who worked. Special thanks to the key experts: Jos Uitdehaag Bernard Menut, Françoise Andrieux and Olof Dahnell. I thank Jacques Isnard, my predecessor, for being with us. This may be contributing to this family atmosphere. Thanks to the organizers. Thanks Luisa Lozano, our secretary. Thanks also to the interpreters. Finally, thank you all for being here for helping us and supporting us. "