2nd European Training Day of Judicial Officers in Paris on 3 February 2009

Knowing How to Implement the Community Instruments

The International Training Council of Judicial Officers (CIFHJ) was created within the framework of the Legal Institute of Judicial International Law and Enforcement Law (IDJPEX), which is a body of the UIHJ. The general administrator of the CIFHJ is Abel-Didier Pansard, former president of the National school of procedure of Paris (ENP). In February 2008 took place in Brussels the first European Training Day of judicial officers. A theoretical approach of the various European instruments (Regulation 1348/2000, European Enforcement Order, Hague Convention of 15 November 1965, European Order for Payment) had been developed at this occasion. After this launching, the 2nd training day pursued a practical goal of application of these instruments. The general spirit of the day focused in a first part on the resolution of the problems of implementing the existing instruments and, in a second part, on the study of the new instruments as well as the transmission supports relating to new technologies. More than one hundred participants coming from a dozen countries gathered in the conference room of the hotel Pullman Eiffel Tower of Paris. The president of the UIHJ, Jacques Isnard, attended the whole session.
Guy Duvelleroy, president of the national Chamber of judicial officers of justice of France (CNHJ), said how happy he was to accommodate the participants in France. He underlined the fundamental character of training in the European field and wished for everyone a profitable work. Two workshops followed one another in the morning. The first dealt with “Knowing how to implement the Community instruments”. It was placed under the chair of Anne Kérisit (France), judicial officer, member of the UIHJ. The speakers were Claude Brenner, professor at the University of Pantheon-Assas (France), Alexandre David, magistrate at the processual and social office (ministry for justice of France), Pierrick Bazin, registrar of mortgages (France), Jean-Daniel Lachkar, judicial officer (France), member of the board of the CNHJ, Dominique Abadie, judicial officer (France), member of the UIHJ, Stéphane Gensollen, judicial officer (France), Marc Schmitz, judicial officer (Belgium), quaestor of the Committee of the UIHJ, and Mathieu Chardon, judicial officer (France), 1st secretary of the UIHJ, substituting Jos Uitdehaag, judicial officer (Netherlands), 1st quaestor of the Committee of the UIHJ, prevented. By giving concrete examples, Marc Schmitz and Stéphane Gensollen exposed the difficulties of implementating (EC) Regulation n°1393/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council of November 13rd, 2007 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extra-judicial documents in civil and commercial matters. They attempted to emphasize the differences of this text with the precedent (Regulation 1348/2000), the points of improvement but also the remaining gaps and the possible contribution of the profession as regards the encountered problems. As examples, the addressee can henceforth refuse to accept the document at the time of service or within one week if it is not written in, or accompanied by a translation into a language which he understands or the official language of the place of service. The principle of the double date was also extended to the whole of the documents having to be served within a particular period. Another element: the cost occasioned by recourse to a judicial officer or to a person competent under the law of the Member State addressed shall correspond to a single fixed fee laid down by that Member State in advance which respects the principles of proportionality and nondiscrimination. Pierrick Bazin came to complete the explanations given by our fellow-members and indicated which were the problems arising in France as regards the seizure of property publication of the document initiating the attachment.
The European Enforcement Order (EC Regulation n°805/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of 21 April 2004) was presented by one of its ardent defendant in the person of Dominique Abadie. Our colleague explained all the benefits of this instrument however badly understood by many lawyers. The European Order for Payment was presented by Mathieu Chardon, who took on the broad outlines of the presentation prepared by Jos Uitdehaag. Alexandre David described the new (EC) Regulation n°861/2007 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July 2007 instituting a European procedure of payment for small claims, into force since 1 January 2009. Jean-Daniel Lachkar evoked the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matter (EJN), created by a Council Decision of 28 May 2001 which came into effect on 1 December 2002. He indicated that at the time of the meeting of the EJN which was held in Paris on 5 December 2008, during the French presidency of the European Union, the representatives of the EJN announced that the judicial officers were going to officially join the network, which would bring great opportunities for the profession. He indicated that the French ministry for justice had been very active in the process.
Then, Professor Claude Brenner gave an academic dimension of the works by means of a brilliant presentation during which he replaced the whole of the European instruments both on an internal and Community level.
The second workshop of the morning had as a subject the cross-border covering of alimonies. The workshop was placed under the chair of Roger Dujardin, judicial officer (Belgium), vice-president of the UIHJ. Francis Guépin, judicial officer (France), member of the board of the UIHJ, presented the procedure of covering of alimonies in France, while insisting on the intervention of the judicial officer within the framework of this special procedure. Then, Mathieu Chardon presented the covering of alimonies abroad, from the New York convention of 20 June 1956 to the new Regulation (EC) n°4/2009 of the Council of 18 December, 2008 on the competence, the applicable law, the recognition and the enforcement of decisions and the co-operation as regards maintenance obligations. Mélina Douchy, professor at the University of Dijon (France), concluded the morning by a very complete talk on the prospects as regards covering of maintenance obligations in the European Union and the world.

The Adaptation of Training to the Requirements of the Future

The first workshop of the afternoon had as a subject the comparison of the dematerialization to the service of the profession in the various European States. The chairwoman was Françoise Andrieux, judicial officer (France), general reporter of the next congress of the UIHJ in Marseilles, in September 2009. Our fellow-members Dionysios Kriaris (Greece), Attila Vincze (Hungary) and Antonio Gomes da Cunha, president of the Chamber of Solicitadores (Portugal), presented in turn the projections in their respective countries. The participants, in particular the French, were particularly impressed by the degree of evolution as regards dematerialization in these countries. Dyonisios Kriaris evoked the dematerialized service of documents and the provisions currently in preparation in Greece, by explaining on legal and concrete levels the contribution of the profession on the matter and its role. Antonio Gomes da Cunha developed the system of banking seizures by electronic means by explaining the conditions of exercise of this process. In Hungary, where the principle seems particularly accomplished, judicial officers have the monopoly of public auctions of immovable. Thus Attila Vincze presented the system set up by the national Chamber of judicial officers of Hungary, which makes it possible to carry out biddings “on line”. To conclude this workshop, Alain Bobant, judicial officer (France), president of the Electronic Law and Communication Association (Adec), presented the various products made available for French judicial officers and the citizens. Among those, the “Depomail”, which make it possible to address an email certified by a judicial officer, and “AuthentiDoc”, which makes it possible to file contractual documents in full safety and to protect artistic creations, while profiting from the professional guarantee of a judicial officer.
Lastly, the final workshop dealt with the scope of the project of multi-field activities for judicial officers launched by the UIHJ a few years ago. It treated in particular the topic of mediation in its various forms. The workshop was chaired by Rose-Marie Bruno, judicial officer (France), member of the UIHJ. Francoise Andrieux and our fellow-members Francesca Biondini (Italy), Adrian Stoïca, member of the board of the UIHJ (Romania), and Nicola Hesslen (Sweden), evoked the various phases of mediation. Mediation, they recalled, can intervene at various stages: pre-trial, during trial or post-trial. The judicial officer, because of his quality, is naturally brought to intervene at all stages and in particular during enforcement. The speakers thus drew up an inventory of fixtures of mediation in their country and in comparison with the profession.
Olivier Salati, university lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Aix-en-Provence (France), learnedly exposed the principal lines of the European directive of April 23rd, 2008 on mediation and its implication for the occupation of judicial officer.
In conclusion of this day of a great density - considered to be too short by much - Abel-Didier Pansard thanked both participants and speakers. He insisted on the importance of training, at the same time on an internal plan and at European and international level. Within this framework, he says, the European Training Days of judicial officers constitute an experiment to be renewed and which will quickly become a standard for the profession.