The Permanent Council of UIHJ in Paris: The Multi-Disciplinary Judicial Officers

10 Main Axes

42 delegations from throughout the world gathered in Paris for the traditional permanent council of the UIHJ, which is, to be reminded, the highest authority after the international congress.
Paul Rochard, President of the National Chamber of the Judicial Officers of France, greeted the delegations in the large Parisian amphitheatre of the National Chamber.  President Isnard welcomed the delegates and paid a respected homage to two recently deceased figures of the profession: Shiyumhlaba Dlamini (Swaziland), President of the Association of the Sheriffs of Swaziland, and Alan Crowe (the USA), former Administrator of NAPPS. Then President Jacques Isnard reconsidered the international congress of Washington by thanking once again Sue Collins for her investment as well as all the participants. The president pointed out that, following the Congress; it was decided to articulate the next actions around 10 principal axes:

Forty Events

President Isnard then pointed out that the UIHJ organised or took part in forty events around the world during the year 2006. The participants then made a report of some of them:

Important Perspectives in Germany and Regression in Austria

 

Concerning the relations with the international organisations - André Mathieu drew up a report of the 59th annual conference of NGO of the United Nations. As regards to the Hague Conference on Private International Law and Ohada - President Isnard recalled the excellence of the relations between these two organisations and the UIHJ. Mathieu Chardon, 1st secretary of the UIHJ, gave a report on the meetings of the European Judicial Network legal (EJN), which were held during the first half of 2006 in Brussels. He explained why the European Commission wished to collaborate more narrowly with the legal professions and to integrate them into the EJN.

Juraj Podkonicki gave a report of the conference on the topic of communication proposed to the delegations on November 22nd.  This section was chaired by Francis Guépin, member of the board of the UIHJ, and animated by Rose-Marie Bruno, member of the French delegation, Françoise Andrieux, Judicial Officer (France), Jan Zdrazilek (Republic Czech) and himself. The modifications of the website mainly the creation of a world bibliography on the profession and the civil enforcement procedures section, directory of the members of the Club of the UIHJ, access to information on the countries by means of geographical maps, were presented by Mathieu Chardon. President Isnard complimented the work achieved by Mathieu Chardon, Marc Schmitz and Jos Uitdehaag, the three questors of the Committee of the UIHJ, in particular for the quality of the magazine of the UIHJ.

Then, Hans Eckhart Gallo, President of the Association of the German Gerichtsvollzieher, informed the assembly of the important perspectives for the installation of the occupation of liberal judicial officers in Germany. After this good news, Marc Schmitz drew a much more negative picture of the situation in Austria where the problems do nothing but worsen, with the virtually disappearance of the association of the Austrians Gerichtsvollzieher

Moving Countries

On the other hand, the situation is described as very positive in Bulgaria.  According to Georgi Dichev, President of the National Chamber of the Bulgarian Judicial Officers - The judicial officers of this country have successfully started their activities on a liberal basis, and the National Chamber has just published the first issue of the professional magazine of the profession.

For Cyprus, Kostas Hagiokosteas recalled that the Cypriote Association of the Judicial Officers, of which he is the President, was created just a year and half ago. He thanked the Greek fellow-members for their assistance and constant support, as well as the UIHJ.

Morocco indicated Abdelaziz Fouganni, President of the National Order of the Judicial Officers, has from now on a new statute for the judicial officers. This statute in particular created new structures on regional levels. “This change of statute is the result of ten years of work and I would like to congratulate you for this major achievement for your country” underlined President Isnard.

The President of the Union of the Judicial Officers of Mauritius, of which it was the first visit since many years, made a presentation of the legal system into force in Mauritius and his forty civil servant judicial officers.

Concerning the Committee of the UIHJ, Adrian Stoïca, member of the board, and Mathieu Chardon revealed the new aspects of the organisation of the Committee.  The Committee will now be based on a pyramidal structure, which will allow a more effective and more direct work. Mathieu Chardon then presented the report of the Committee in the name of the three questors. The action plan for 2007 is mainly focused on the treatment of the “General Questionnaire on the Profession and the Multidisciplinary Judicial Officer”. On a secondary basis, an extranet website for the members of the UIHJ, as well as a newsletter for the members of the Club will be created during the first half of 2007.

Five Workshops on Multi-Disciplinary Occupations

Bernard Menut, Secretary of the Board, then submitted a very complete report of the work, which was completed on November 22nd by the representatives of the delegations, assisted by members of the board on multidisciplinary occupations. 5 workshops had been made up:

This procedure, which constituted a first for the UIHJ, proved to be very efficient. It thus made it possible to obtain very precise information on the practises in force in various countries and to draw up a first assessment of the situation on the diversity of the activities of the judicial officers on a world level. On this subject, Jacques Isnard pointed out that the aim of the UIHJ:

Michal Redelbach, member of the Polish delegation, gave a report on the difficulties encountered in Poland by the profession. Reforms are currently in hand in Poland. They aim at limiting the role of the legal execution and at amending the law on judicial officers to make it possible, amongst other things, to increase their number in a considerable way, which would put the profession in danger. Jacques Isnard assured the Polish representative of the unconditional support of the UIHJ to help the Polish fellow-members to overcome their difficulties.

Robert Bonou, President of the National Chamber of the Judicial Officers of Benin, announced his retirement while specifying that he had been appointed as Honorary Judicial Officer. Mr. Bonou drew an exhaustive picture of the occupations of judicial officers in Benin. He evoked the new statutes, which allow for the Beninese judicial officers to work within professional civil companies, the appreciable increase in the tariff, and the writing in the law of activities such as the covering of credits.

In Hungary, Zoltan Levante, member of the Hungarian delegation, thanked the UIHJ for the possibility offered to the countries to be able to exchange professional experiences and culture. He thus indicated the idea of a program of exchanges between Hungary and the African countries members of the UIHJ.

Efhtimios Pretekes, President of the National Chamber of the Judicial Officers of Greece, proposing to continue to promote the dialogue between judicial officers. “It is exactly what encourages us, Greek judicial officers, to fight against anachronisms, an obsolete system, phobias against innovations, to assert institutional changes in our code and to organise them for better service of the citizen's and at the same time to assert better tariffs” he said.

Humanitarian actions for the UIHJ

Concerning the humanitarian actions of the UIHJ - Mamadou Cissé, President of the National Chamber of the Judicial Officers of Niger, suggested the UIHJ help his country in the form of the creation of a hospital for children suffering from malnutrition. The serious problem of dryness of these last years has generated a famine. “Through this action, the UIHJ will be well-known in Niger,” promised Mr. Cissé.

The regional judicial networks were then approached by Roger Dujardin and Adrian Stoïca, in particular, under the angle of the creation of the various branches of the UIHJ: Euromed, Eurodanube and Euronord. “I believe that that can be only advantageous to the international Union under only one reserve, it is that all these initiatives remain in any event under the authority of the international Union” specified Jacques Isnard.

Concerning the Cadat Pan-African project - Johan Fourie presented the report prepared by Robbie Shilz. This report was primarily centred on the visit of the UIHJ in Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe in February 2006 (see our articles on the site). The President of the UIHJ announced that a Pan-African conference would take place in Pretoria (South Africa) in March 2007 to discuss the organisation the profession on the basis of a statute with common standards.

Norway, New Member of the UIHJ

Tallinn (Estonia), invited the UIHJ Permanent Council to be held there in the spring of 2008, under reserves of the response of the National Chamber of the Judicial officers of Estonia.
The dates for the international congress of the UIHJ in Marseilles (France) were communicated.  It will be held from the 7th to September 11th, 2009.

Then Norway was allowed as a new member of the UIHJ, under the cordial applause of the assembly. “I made a point of congratulating you and to say to you how much we were happy to accommodate you and how much we were as happy to note that nearly all of the countries of the Scandinavian zone of Europe had become member of the international Union” indicated President Isnard.

It is on this excellent news that this particularly rich - and once more federative - Permanent Council session was ended. It was requested from the participants to remain in the room to attend the twinning celebration between the national Chamber of the Judicial Officers of Quebec, represented by its President Guy Aidans, and the Regional Chamber of the Judicial Officers of the Court of Appeal of Poitiers (France), represented by its President Guy Bricard.

In the evening, during the dinner generously offered by the National Chamber of the Judicial Officers of France in a splendid Parisian hotel, each attendee could share a moment of relaxation and confraternity. It was also the occasion for President Isnard, assisted for the occasion by Francis Aribaut, former President of the UIHJ, to thank two eminent fellow-members who have worked during many years within the UIHJ for the promotion of the occupation of judicial officers in their countries, and in the world: Marcel Briers (Belgium) and Arpad Dienes (Hungary). May they be solemnly thanked once again here in the name of the UIHJ.