An International and European Prism
Since a recent law of May 2010, the Spanish Procuradores have the opportunity to serve documents. This new business has given them the opportunity to become full member of the UIHJ. It is thus around our organization that they decided to lay out the program for their third meeting. During the opening ceremony, President Luis Ortega Alcubierre, addressing a few words of welcome to the audience, recalled that the future of his profession lies within an international and European prism. He recalled that worldwide the judicial officers have different forms but that they all eventually pursue the same goal through a variety of activities carried out within a liberal statute, which explains the integration of Procuradores within the UIHJ. He saluted the attendance of the foreign delegations: France, Gabon, Moldova, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
Florencio Garcia Madrigal, adviser of the City of Zaragoza, said that Zaragoza that was all set to host this event, firstly because it is a European city in constant development (it will be European Capital of Culture in 2013) and secondly because the current mayor was also minister for justice.
Carlos Carnicer, President of the General Counsel of Lawyers, brought the support of his profession to the meeting. He established a parallel between Procuradores and lawyers, comparable professions, at the service of individuals and whose evolution necessarily involves both initial and on-going training.
Fernando Salinas Zubiri, chairman of the Higher Court of Justice of Aragon, stated that under the themes of this conference, if each state must make its own way, it can only do so by integrating international organizations and that it is on this collective path that we must collectively move forward.
Ignacio Sanchez Guiu, Secretary General of modernization and relations with the Department of Justice, said that internationalization is an act of good governance and even compulsory.
Leo Netten, president of the UIHJ, then spoke, stating that the world needs to secure trade and that in times of crisis we must ask ourselves questions about our future. Judicial officers are a guarantee and security in the world economy.
Juan Carlos Estevez Fernandez Novoa, President of Spanish Procuradores, thanked President Netten for his collaboration with Spanish Procuradores, as well as Luis Ortega Ruiz Alcubierre and Lorenzo Christian Ruiz Martinez, vice president of Spanish Procuradores, for their involvement at international level.
A Way Towards Preservation and Future
Then began the works divided into three workshops began. Jose Carlos Resende, president of the National Chamber of Solicitadores of Portugal, undertook the first presentation under the chair of Ana Moleres Muruzábal, Chairman of the Procuradores of the Courts of Catalonia on the theme of "Harmonizing enforcement: a guarantee for individuals and businesses". He said that if the successive European regulations facilitate enforcement, they do not prevent the opacity in which companies are still subjected in in the enforcement of court decisions.
The key in exchanges is information. In Portugal, Solicitadores record in an electronic intra-professional platform all the procedures they put in place. Moreover, given the important role of the service of document, a harmonization of methods of service is needed.
The presentation of the second workshop, "The enforcement officer: unity on goals and diversity in forms," was given to Françoise Andrieux, Secretary General of the UIHJ, under the chair of Pablo Bustamante, Dean of the Bar of Procuradores of Vizcaya. She presented the current face of the judicial officer in the world: its status, training, activities with supporting statistics. She contrasted this ill-assorted reality to the willingness in the harmonization across Europe shown for instance in the CEPEJ Guidelines. She recalled the crucial contribution of the UIHJ in this implementation of the harmonization of the enforcement profession.
The final panel, "The International Union: Purpose, objectives”, gathered Leo Netten, Francis Guépin (UIHJ member) and Lorenzo Christian Martinez Ruiz around the chair of Luis Ortega Alcubierre.
Three steps for the panel:
- The notion of a fair trial (Article 6 ECHR)
- The concept of reasonable time
- The establishment of the CEPEJ
Chairman Netten explained the basics of professional development coupled with the expansion of UIHJ. By integrating the major international organizations, he said that the UIHJ has been known and has its expertise appreciated by these institutions.
Then Lorenzo Christian Ruiz Martinez highlighted the development of e-Justice using the position paper issued by the UIHJ on this topic.
Francis Guépin then took the floor to remind the profession of “avoué” in France (close to that of Procuradores) was suppressed and that he therefore welcomes the accession of Procuradores to the service of documents as it now puts them on the path of the activities of judicial officers.
Chairman Estevez closed the day by saying that now Procuradores should follow the way of the UIHJ because it was a way towards preservation and future.
