19th Plenary Meeting of the CEPEJ on 5-6 July 2012

 

 

In his capacity as a permanent observer member of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice of the Council of Europe (CEPEJ), the UIHJ is invited to attend plenary meetings taking place twice a year at the Council Europe in Strasbourg (France). Mathieu Chardon, 1st secretary of the UIHJ, was in attendance to represent the profession of judicial officer at European level.
John Stacey, President of the CEPEJ, welcomed the participants. He acknowledged the presence of observer countries and guests, including Israel and Morocco.
President Stacey paid a vibrant tribute to his predecessor, Fausto de Santis (Italy), died in March 2012. He traced his brilliant career, his contributions as President of the CEPEJ and his great human qualities recognized by all. It is under the chair of Mr de Santis that the working group on enforcement (CEPEJ-GT-EXE), attended by the UIHJ, was created and that the Guidelines on execution were developed and adopted.
Stéphane Leyenberger, Secretary of the CEPEJ, recalled the importance of this 19th plenary meeting. Every two years, the CEPEJ publish a report on the evaluation of judicial systems in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. This meeting marks the end of the process for the on-going evaluation exercise.
John Stacey informed the participants that the CEPEJ is now attending meetings beyond Europe. He recalled his participation in the International Congress of Judicial officers of Cape Town organized by the UIHJ. President Stacey noted that this participation gave the CEPEJ a Worldwide reputation. "Now, we participate in meetings throughout the world" he explained.
In the same vein, Stéphane Leyenberger mentioned that the Council of Europe decided to develop a policy to expand the scope of its activities. A neighbourhood policy was implemented. This policy concerns Mediterranean countries and Central Asia in particular. The Council of Europe aims to build on its values and standards to support states in these regions in their desire for democracy reforms. One aspect of this policy is cooperation between the EU and the Council of Europe. CEPEJ has a prominent position as one of the priority partners. "The justice reform is a priority," said the Secretary of the CEPEJ. "You can rely on the recognized methodology and tools developed by the CEPEJ.” The cooperation started with Morocco. It should be soon extended to Tunisia and Jordan. "The work of the CEPEJ can be exported beyond the borders of member states," he concluded.
In this regard, Muriel Decot, co-Secretary of the CEPEJ, recalled a meeting held early June in Rabat (Morocco). A first evaluation of the judicial system has been made. This first meeting allowed verifying and expanding data, visiting courts and meeting some key bodies of the Moroccan judicial system.

The CEPEJ Guidelines at the Heart of the Cape Town Congress
When it came to the observer members presentations, Mathieu Chardon, thanked President Stacey on behalf of Leo Netten, president of the UIHJ, for having honoured the Cape Town Congress early May 2012 by his presence. He praised the brilliant intervention of Mr Stacey on the CEPEJ and the Guidelines on enforcement of 17 December 2009.
The first secretary of the UIHJ again indicated that the UIHJ considers that the Guidelines are the basis of standards of the profession of judicial officer in Europe and worldwide. He said that the Congress of Cape Town had a resounding success. 450 delegates from 50 countries were present. 60 speakers took the floor. The congress theme was “The Judicial Officer of the 21st Century”. The CEPEJ Guidelines were at the heart of the work. He informed the members of the CEPEJ that the initial work on the Global Code of enforcement, conducted by the Scientific Council of the UIHJ, was presented during the congress.
Then Mathieu Chardon said the UIHJ was now working on six concrete projects in order to identify best practices and propose standards. The six projects are:
- Seizure and sale of immovable
- Service of documents
- Training
- Transparency of assets
- Attachment of bank account
- Statements of facts
He invited the CEPEJ and the member countries to join in the work of the UIHJ.
John Stacey said he was proud of the work of the CEPEJ, particularly in the light of the success of the Guidelines on enforcement. "The CEPEJ becomes the bench mark at world level". President Stacey recalled that Leo Netten and Mathieu Chardon participated very actively in the working group responsible for drafting and developing these Guidelines. He considered they brought a "very large contribution to the work of the CEPEJ." "We look forward to working again with the UIHJ" he said.
Stéphane Leyenberger said the Directorate General for Justice of the European Commission asked the CEPEJ to prepare a report on the impact of justice on the economic situation of the EU Member States. This report should be forwarded to the European Commission in September, as part of its report on growth in Europe. Justice must be effectively taken into account for growth. A contract was signed between the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Christel Schurrer, CEPEJ consultant for judicial systems, continued by presenting the project of the European Commission: European Judicial Efficieny Scoreboard. Questionnaires were sent to the country. Regarding enforcement, the questionnaire was sent to the UIHJ. Ms Schurrer very warmly thanked the UIHJ and its First Secretary for their investment and the initiatives taken to meet the demand in a very short time.
Then the meeting was devoted to discuss the various points of the report on efficiency of judicial systems. The report on the efficiency of judicial systems (2008-2010) will be presented on 20 September 2012 in Vienna (Austria) during the meeting of the Ministers for Justice of the Council of Europe.
As usual, we will salute the excellent organization of the 19th plenary meeting, thanks to the efficiency of its secretariat. The 20th Plenary Meeting will host the 10th anniversary of the CEPEJ in December 2012, a happy event the UIHJ is looking forward to.