- Presentation in Washington of the Global Code of Enforcement during the 3rd Global Week on Law, Justice and Development, organised by the World Bank
- And in 10 days in Strasbourg, for the First Global Forum on Enforcement organised by the UIHJ and the Council of Europe, followed by the 24th plenary meeting of the CEPEJ.
We will get back to it, Mr Stacey, but this enhanced presence at our side reflects the same interest that drives us, that of the development of the profession of enforcement agent to provide European citizens, but also beyond Europe, a faster, more effective, more secure justice, in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights of 4 November 1950.
Mr President of the Court of Justice of the Caribbean, I welcome your presence among us. You will present your institution in a few moments and I want to emphasise the historic nature of your presence today. The UIHJ currently includes 73 countries worldwide, including eight on the American continent. At the end of the cooperation agreement that will be signed in a moment, in addition to mutual benefit to us from this agreement, twelve new states will join us. We will then have 85 countries including 20 in the Americas.
Mr President of the European Union of Rechtspfleger, before our respective elections at the head of our organisations we already had been hanging out on the benches of the CEPEJ as permanent observer members. Our relations have been friendly from the start and have strengthened over the years. Today, I am delighted to welcome you as a President and I look forward to our collaboration.
My congratulations to the newly elected presidents since our previous permanent council in November 2013:
- Tedi Malaveci, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Albania;
- Andrei Audzeyeu, Director of the Enforcement Authority of Belarus;
- Marc Brackeva, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Belgium;
- Brahim Bouchachi, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Algeria;
- Jean-Didier Bidié, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Congo;
- Patrick Sannino, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of France;
- Ioseb Baghaturia, Director of the National Bureau of Enforcement of Georgia;
- Wilbert van den Donck, President of the Royal Association of Judicial Officers of the Netherlands;
- André Bizier, President of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Quebec;
- Jean-Baptiste Kamaté, President of the National Association of Judicial Officers of Senegal;
- Aleksandra Tresnjev, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Serbia.
Finally, I would also like to welcome my predecessor, Jacques Isnard, and greet the other former members of the UIHJ, René Duperray, Jean Christin, Jacques Bertaux (complete)... who honor us in following our work and thus demonstrate their mint attachment to the family of the judicial officers of the world.
Upon opening this last permanent council of the UIHJ in Paris before the International Congress of Madrid, I cannot but realise that this is my 20th Permanent Council in Paris as a member of the board of the UIHJ.
In twenty years, the UIHJ rose from the age of reason to an adult state, from twenty members to more than eighty today. It all began with the fall of the Berlin Wall, which celebrated at the beginning of this month its twenty-fifth anniversary, and the collapse of the Soviet bloc in the early nineties.
Twenty years ago I say, the UIHJ collected the fruits of its work which begun in these years to implement the model of the independent and liberal judicial officer in Europe. Twenty years ago, the UIHJ invested on African soil, with the success that we know. Could so many of us be here today without this work initiated by Baudouin Gielen and carried out by Jacques Isnard? I do not think so. We will never forget all that was brought to us by the Union.
What is the role of the UIHJ? What can it bring into this world in crisis, in this world of constant social, economic, ideological and technological change? What answers can judicial officers bring at national, regional and global levels? These questions are essential in order to stay in tune with the targets set by the board of the UIHJ.
The problems we face will not be solved unless we are strong. We can only be strong when we are united. When a crisis occurs, the withdrawal reflex into oneself is a serious mistake we cannot allow.
I say this every year. We cannot afford to be un-united. We cannot afford not to support our organisation financially and humanly. Our profession is large in influence but small in size. Can it afford to divide its forces? What is the population of judicial officers?
I will tell you. 51 countries have responded so far to our Grand questionnaire. Excluding employees and trainees, these 51 countries account for slightly more than 80,000 judicial officers, half of them being judicial officers of the Russian Federation.
Consider now the figures of the European Union. There are over 600,000 lawyers. We are about 26 000. And in those 26 000, there are more than 9 000 are Spanish Procuradores who carry out service of documents and wait for reforms that will enable them to carry out enforcement.
Yes, we are small in numbers. Yet our presence and influence on the international scene is recognised. Across the world, institutions, international organisations put their trust in us. Why? Because we speak with one voice. Because our speech is the same, from Portugal to the Russian Federation, from Kazakhstan to Thailand, from Morocco to South Africa, from Canada to Argentina. Our speech is the same when we organise an international conference with the ASEAN countries. It is the same when we welcome the countries of the Court of Justice of the Caribbean. It is the same in our relationship with the European Commission. It is the same when we participate in the drafting of the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement. It is the same when we are working to develop a Global Code on Enforcement.
We all know that it is very easy for politicians to stigmatise our profession in times of crisis when we are small in numbers. We are under attack everywhere, on all continents. Nobody is spared. We must be very attentive. Here the tariff is in question. There the status s at stakes without any consultation.
We must cover all sides. We need to explain who we are, in every country, but also what we represent at regional and global levels. We must provide the same answers. You know what these answers are. The role of UIHJ is to be with you whenever you request our assistance and our expertise. Of course it is necessary that you request our assistance and our expertise...
Please don't be afraid to ask! Nor should we be afraid of reforms. These reforms should be a source of progress and development for our profession. But for that, I say it once again in the presence of John Stacey, it is essential to rely on the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement. This is the only roadmap that you should discuss with your authorities when our profession is under attack and you need to defend its interests.
We are fortunate enough to have a universal document coming from the Council of Europe, adopted by its 47 member states. The origin of this document ensures full compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. I solemnly tell you that it would be irresponsible not to use the CEPEJ Guidelines as a working basis for any reform that involves our profession and civil enforcement proceedings. You must be convinced that the CEPEJ Guidelines, and in particular Articles 33 and 34 are the cornerstone of the harmonised judicial officer globally the UIHJ calls for so many years.
We will have the opportunity to speak more about this topic in ten days during the First Global Forum on Enforcement in Strasbourg, where we celebrate the 5th anniversary of this fundamental text.
What is referred to in the Guidelines on Enforcement is total enforcement. Which country can now claim to be in compliance with all of its 84 items? None. For example, in how many countries may judicial officers carry out the whole process of attachment of immovable including the auction sale of the property? How many enforcement are carried out by agents who directly depend on the authority that issued the writ of execution, in violation of fundamental rules of separation of powers?
When we claim total enforcement by judicial officers, we only claim what is mentioned in the CEPEJ Guidelines, that is to say what has been recommended by the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.
Total enforcement by judicial officers should also rely on another founding text. We started working on this text in 2006, after the International Congress of the UIHJ in Washington. This is the most ambitious project ever undertaken by our organisation: the development of a Global Code of Enforcement. After eight years of work, this Code has now entered its final phase. We presented it last month in Washington during the 3rd Global Week of Law, Justice and Development organised by the World Bank. The reaction we had was exceptional. We were convinced that this code would have a bright future. We now have proof of it. We will get back to it during our permanent council. I will not wait to thank all the members of our Scientific Council who have been working with us on this project and in particular Professor Natalie Fricero who coordinates the works with our Secretary General Françoise Andrieux, with the discreet but very effective support of former President Jacques Isnard.
In October 2012, during our international seminar in Nicosia, we decided to work on developing a report on enforcement. This project was immediately christened with the code name "Aphrodite" to honour the goddess of the island who has certainly inspired this project.
During the International Congress of the UIH in Cape Town in 2012, we developed the Grand questionnaire of the UIHJ. The questionnaire consists of 350 questions. It is the largest database in the world on the profession and enforcement measures. We could not leave it to that. The UIHJ report on enforcement, a copy of which has been handed to you today, is almost finalised. Our approach was deliberately pragmatic. That is why this report identifies best practices. It has been drafted in the light of the CEPEJ reports on European judicial systems, for which, I remind you, the UIHJ has been consulted on the chapter relating to our profession.
The past year has been like the previous, particularly dense and rich in events, on all fronts.
I will start with Africa. The continent faces in various countries several types of problems. Political instability, extremism-related threats, including kidnapping threats, or even the most serious outbreak ever of the Ebola virus, are all obstacles that have unfortunately led us to postpone some events, which I sincerely regret. I have discussed with the colleagues involved. As soon as circumstances permit, be assured that we will renew our efforts to be present and, in the meantime, find solutions to continue our cooperation with all countries.
However, as I mentioned during our permanent council in Heraklion in June, despite these problems we have won a great victory in Africa in a fight that began nearly a decade ago. I am talking about the harmonisation of African judicial officers through a common status, based on the one ruling in Europe: an independent judicial officer, trained, responsible, in charge of many missions that will enable him to grow and better serve justice, litigants and economic operators. Europe has been a model for Africa.
In March 2014, our project was taken over by the West African Economic and Monetary Union, WAEMU, which includes eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. At the end of the meeting we attended, WAEMU Ministers of justice adopted the conclusions of experts and endorsed the UIHJ projects. I quote:
"Given the specificity of the profession of judicial officers the organisation of which depends on public power, as well as the sovereignty of Member States in this regard, the meeting of experts recommends further harmonisation of national legislation in a phased approach focusing on:
- The harmonisation at Community level of the status of judicial officers, including in particular the standardisation of qualifications;
- The creation of a regional training school for judicial officers;
- The harmonisation of national legislation of the Member States".
In this respect, I would like to thank our Vice-President, Honoré Aggrey, and Rosine Bogoré Zongo, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Burkina Faso, to have participated in this meeting and work to make possible this recurrent dream we have for so many years.
You see, the best can happen. This harmonisation in Africa represents a revolution for our profession. We can now base our legitimate demands for a harmonised profession of judicial officer on two arguments: the CEPEJ Guidelines and the WAEMU project. Both projects are part of a same vision, a single political line set when you invested the board of the UIHJ.
As regards Ohada, we signed a partnership with Ersuma, which is the Ohada training school. We met in August at our headquarters in Paris Ersuma director Felix Onana Etoundy. We discussed with him the practicalities of our partnership. We plan to organise jointly at the Ersuma headquarters in Porto Novo training sessions that will be coupled with the current Ufohja training.
In Asia, 2014 marked an unprecedented step. In March we held in Bangkok, the first Asia Europe Meeting of Judicial Officers. We have managed the feat to gather on the subject of enforcement nine of the ten countries of Asean, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This seminar was a huge success. It created an unprecedented dynamic which opened the doors of a large number of countries in the region. Since then, the Legal Execution Department of Thailand has agreed to take the role of the permanent secretariat of the UIHJ in Asia. Our friend Kraisorn Singharajwarapan was appointed to this position. We can only be pleased.
In America, we signed in January 2014 a cooperation agreement in Santiago, Chile with the Justice Studies Center of the Americas, JSCA, an InterAmerican agency founded in 1999 with which we have established contacts in recent years. I would like to thank Luis Ortega Alcubierre and Sue Collins who have completed this important task especially since no less than 34 countries are members of JSCA.
Thanks to the tenacity of Sue Collins, whom I thank again for her constant dedication and investment, we set foot in the Caribbean. Following the steps that have been undertaken in the previous year we will sign in a moment our cooperation agreement with the Court of Justice of the Caribbean.
In North America, we met a few times the director of the Cyber Justice Laboratory of the University of Montreal, Professor Karim Benyekhlef. Based on our discussions, we have planned in October in Montreal a major international symposium on new technologies, in association with the Federation of Trusted Third Parties, of which the UIHJ is a member. For scheduling reasons, the event had to be postponed. This is only a postponement. We will keep you informed of the new date once it has been set.
In Europe, the year was just as dense. Our 7th Training Day of judicial officers was held here on March 14 and I thank once again the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of France for generously hosting the twenty delegations as well as professors and speakers.
Our European and American Permanent Council in Heraklion in June was a unique moment of encounter and exchange in the best possible surroundings for the thirty delegations present. We also held a European Council of Presidents and a UIHJ-EuroDanube session. We could review our Stobra 2 (service of documents), Stobra 3 (transparency of assets) and Stobra 5 (training) projects and held a workshop on e-Justice.
We participated in many conferences and seminars, the list of which will soon be presented during our activities report for the past year.
A few words now on our relations and cooperation with major institutions and international organisations.
At European level, the joint cooperation project of the Chamber of Judicial officers of Estonia "Tool for cross-border enforcement of judgments (JUST / 2011 / JCIV / AG / 3384)", funded by the "Civil Justice" programme of the European Union has entered its implementation phase in collaboration with the UIHJ and the chambers of judicial officers of Latvia and Lithuania. This project will be presented in detail in the workshop to be held during our Permanent Council. I must tell you that several states, including the Netherlands, which will take the presidency of the European Union from January to June 2016, have presently expressed their keen interest in this project.
I have already mentioned our relations with the Council of Europe and the CEPEJ. We are now integrated in the following working groups of the CEPEJ:
- Working Group on enforcement;
- Steering Committee of the Saturn Centre for judicial time management;
- Working Group on quality of justice;
- Working Group and for the evaluation of judicial time.
For those who have not visited our website, during the 16th meeting of the CEPEJ Working Group on quality of justice late September 2014, the CEPEJ has decided, with the support of the UIHJ, to strengthen the effectiveness of enforcement based on best practices in its Guidelines on enforcement. These works are perfectly consistent with the actions the UIHJ intends to deploy globally, and we should be very honoured of this partnership.
As I mentioned a few minutes ago, the CEPEJ consulted the UIHJ for the writing of chapter 13 (Enforcement) of the 5th CEPEJ Report on European Judicial Systems. This mark of trust, Mr Chair of the CEPEJ, honours the UIHJ. We are proud to participate in this extraordinary tool you have helped develop for a decade and which, every two years, is a major event worldwide.
Still regarding the Council of Europe, the UIHJ is involved in the EU funded South Programme. Thus, we are present in Morocco for over a year now. Concrete results have already been recorded, particularly with regard to the service of documents.
We will now talk about our collaboration with Brussels. A few days after our previous Permanent Council, the European Commission published on 4 December 2013, a report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 of 13 November 2007 on Service of documents. We were the first to respond to this report. We sent our comments to the European Commission in January 2014. We were interviewed in March 2014 to submit our comments. We also participated in two meetings of the European Judicial Network on the theme of the service of documents, in May and October.
As regards training, we attended in February at the National School of Clerks in Dijon (France), a European conference on the future of legal education in the European Union and the European cooperation for court staff. In March we attended the Brussels Steering Committee of the European project on the level of training law of the European Union of judicial personnel, a project in which the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of France and the European Union of Rechtspfleger are partners.
I also wanted to share another cooperation project with the European Law Institute of which the UIHJ is a member ex-officio. During its General Assembly and Conference Projects that took place in Zagreb in September, ELI President Diana Wallis stressed the need for professionals to be fully integrated into ELI projects. We have presented various proposals that could serve as a basis for joint work, particularly related to new participatory methods of enforcement (Soft Enforcement).
Our links with the Hague Conference on Private International Law will continue and strengthen. We participated in The Hague in January and May 2014 in two special meetings on three Hague Conventions: Service Convention (November 15, 1965), Evidence Convention (March 18, 1970) and Access to Justice Convention (25 October 1980). In April, I participated as an observer at the first Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference with our friend Christophe Bernasconi as Secretary General of this great global organisation.
A book that has been distributed to you has just been published. This book is about law enforcement in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. It was written by Natalie Fricero and Guillaume Payan. These are two personalities who need no presentation. Allow me here to thank them for their incredible work.
You will be able to congratulate them yourself if you attend on 10 December the 1st Global Forum on Enforcement organised jointly by the UIHJ and the CEPEJ. The Forum will be held at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. This is the first time that our two institutions are jointly organising a conference of this magnitude and I would like to thank John Stacey for embarking on this adventure with us.
Finally, do not forget the 2015 global event for our profession. I will be happy to see you at the beginning of June 2015 in Madrid for our 22nd International Congress of judicial officers.
You see, dear colleagues, your International Union is keeping very busy. The deployment of our actions and our reactivity require field presence and exponential investment. I must admit that with over a hundred events each year, without additional human and financial resources, we are faced with choices and trade-offs. We will have the opportunity to speak about this issue during our permanent council.
It is our success that drives us to develop. We need two things. The first, I have already mentioned, is to remain united. The second is the support of all our members.
I know your commitment to the values of the International Union. I know I can count on you to ensure the future of our great family of judicial officers in the world.
In turn, you can count on the International Union to be at your side you, to defend you, and to ensure the development and future of our great profession.
I wish you all an excellent permanent council.
Signature of a Co-operation Agreement with the CCJ
Then Patrick Sannino intervened to personally welcome all participants. He said that the profession of judicial officer in France is currently the subject of "
virulent attacks from the French Government under the aegis of a part of Europe" which explained why he could not be present at the beginning of the permanent council. However, concluded the President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of France, "
the French model is a reference model. I am convinced that the intelligence and the common sense of the Government will make them consider our demands and that we will reach a consensual document regarding the judicial officers. "
Sue Collins (USA), member of the board of the UIHJ evoked the patient work she has done in previous years, especially with Luis Ortega Alcubierre (Spain), member of the board of the UIHJ, to develop contacts with the countries of the Caribbean. This work eventually paid off as it allowed since 2011 to establish relations with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and its President, Sir Dennis Byron.
In response, Sir Dennis said he was delighted to be present at the permanent council of the UIHJ. He said the
CCJ was founded ten years ago by twelve Caribbean States:
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago The role of the CCJ is to protect and promote the rule of law as a court of final appeal and as guardian of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas by guaranteeing accessibility, fairness, efficiency and transparency, delivering clear and just decisions in a timely manner. The CCJ has also set a target to work with the courts of the Member States to improve the quality of justice. In this context, one of the critical elements is the service of documents and the enforcement of court decisions. "
This is why, said Dennis Byron, we appreciate the work of the UIHJ." He said he was pleased with this new collaboration that will bring the states of the CCJ in the UIHJ.
Immediately after this statement, the cooperation agreement was signed between the UIHJ and the CCJ. With the arrival of these twelve states the UIHJ now includes 85 member countries.
132 events
After the unanimous approvals of the agenda and of the minutes of the UIHJ permanent council of 2013, the report of the activities of the UIHJ was presented by Francoise Andrieux, secretary general of the UIHJ, and Mathieu Chardon. It shows that since the previous permanent council of November 2013, the UIHJ organised or participated in 132 events, including:
November 2013
Paris - Permanent Council of the UIHJ
Paris - European Council of Presidents of the UIHJ
December 2013
Strasbourg - 22nd plenary meeting of the CEPEJ
Strasbourg - Meeting between the CEPEJ and the Moroccan authorities as part of the South Programme
Hammamet - International Symposium organised by the National Association of Tunisian Judicial Officers, the UIHJ and UIHJ-Maghreb on the theme of "The judicial officer guarantee of legal certainty"
January 2014
Lisbon - Installation Ceremony of José Carlos Resende, President of the National Chamber of Solicitadores, and Armando Oliveira, President of the College of specialised judicial officers
The Hague - Meeting of Experts - Notification and Evidence Conventions 120th
Santiago - Meeting with Receptores
Santiago - Meeting with the Directorate of Modernisation of Justice of the Ministry of Justice of Chile on the reform of the profession of judicial officer in Chile
Chile - Santiago - Signing of a cooperation agreement with the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA)
February 2014
Dijon - European Conference at the National of School of Court Clerks on the theme "The future of legal education in the European Union and the European Cooperation for Court Staff"
Tilburg - Visit of a Turkish delegation
Tilburg - Visit to a Serbian delegation
Libreville - Council of African presidents of the UIHJ
Libreville - Signing of a cooperation agreement between the UIHJ and the Higher Regional School of Magistrates (Ersuma), the training institution of Ohada
Libreville - 31st Ufohja Seminar
Vienna - ELI Meeting
March 2014
Brussels - Steering Committee of the European project on training of court staff
Paris - Meeting at the UIHJ with Alain Bobant, President of the Federation of Trusted Third Parties (FNTC) and Karim Benyekhlef, director of the Institute of Cyber Justice of the University of Montreal
Paris - 7th European Training Day of Judicial Officers, at the headquarters of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of France - Workshops on the application of Regulation 805/2004 - Proposal for a Regulation amending the Regulation on the European Order for Payment - Future Regulations on Arrest of bank accounts
Namur - Congress of the French Union of Judicial officers
Brussels - Presentation to the European Commission of the UIHJ comments on the report of 4 December 2013 from the European Commission on the implementation of the EU Regulation on service of documents in the EU
April 2014
Essen - Symposium of the Federal Association of Judicial officers of Germany
Constanta - Signature of a Cooperation Agreement between the UIHJ and the University of Constanta
Constanta - Symposium at the University of Constanta, "State reform through the various legal codes"
Constanta - Natalie Fricero, member of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ is made Doctor Honoris Causa of the University Ovidius of Constanta
Strasbourg - 15th Meeting of the Working Group of the CEPEJ on Quality of justice CEPEJ-GT-QUAL
The Hague - Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
Paris - Conference organised at the National Chamber of the judicial officers of France by the Federation of Trusted Third Parties (FNTC) on digital identity
Strasbourg - 15th Meeting of the CEPEJ Saturn Centre Steering Group for judicial time management
Dakar - Meeting of experts and Ministers of Justice of WAEMU - Adoption of the project of the UIHJ and the African judicial officers of a Harmonised status of judicial officers in Africa
Bangkok - 1st Asia Europe Meetings of judicial officers with representatives of Asean countries
Agadir - UIHJ-EuroMed
Washington - Presentation of the Global Code on Enforcement at the World Bank
May 2014
Trinidad - Meeting with Sir Dennis Byron, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice
Paris - Meeting at the headquarters of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of France between the UIHJ and the President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of France
Brussels - 49th Meeting of the contact points of the European Judicial Network
The Hague - Special Commission on Notification, Evidence and Access to justice conventions
Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir - 5th mission of the CEPEJ in the framework of the South Programme funded by the European Commission - Review on the service of documents in Morocco
June 2014
Heraklion - Permanent Council of the UIHJ
Heraklion - Council of European Presidents of the UIHJ
Heraklion - UIHJ-EuroDanube
7th World Day of the judicial officer - "The protection of human rights and the judicial officer"
Paris - Symposium on digital trust - Organised by the Federation of Trusted Third Parties (FNTC) at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of France
Belgrade - European Policy Forum Justice
Madrid - Gold Balance of the College of Madrid Procuradores
Brussels - European Judicial Training
July 2014
Baku - 24th plenary meeting of the CEJEJ
Luxembourg - Meeting of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ at the Max Planck Institute
August 2014
Paris - Meeting at the UIHJ with Felix Onana Etoundi, director of the ERSUMA
Consultation of the UIHJ by the CEPEJ on the 5th report of the CEPEJ on European judicial systems (Chapter 13 on execution of court decisions)
September 2014
Trinidad - Meeting with Sir Dennis Byron, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice and preparation of a cooperation agreement with the UIHJ
North Ossetia - Vladikavkaz - 5th International Conference organised by the Federal Enforcement Service of the Russian Federation
Paris - National strike of judicial officers against the proposed reform of the profession of judicial officer in France
Zagreb - ELI General Assembly and Conference projects
Vienna - Conference on the ELI projects
Strasbourg - 16th Meeting of the Working Group of the CEPEJ on Quality of justice- CEPEJ-GT-QUAL
October 2014
Brussels - 51st meeting of the contact points of the European Judicial Network
Sarvar - 20th General Assembly of the National Chamber of judicial officers of Hungary
Campo Verde - Congress of the FENASSOJAF
Paris - Press conference for the publication of the 5th report of the CEPEJ on European judicial systems
Tsaghkadzor - 2nd International Conference of the Armenia Enforcement Service on the theme "Traditional and innovative solutions to issues relating to enforcement proceedings"
Aveiro - Crystal Scale Award 2014 at the General Council of Spanish bars
Lodz - 5th International Conference organised by the Council of Judicial officers of the Lodz region and the University of Lodz
Aveiro - 6th Congress of the Solicitadores of Portugal
Washington - Presentation of the Global Code on Enforcement at the 3rd Global Week on Law, Justice and Development
La Coruña - General Assembly of the Bar of Corunna
November 2014
Chisinau - Launch of Enforcement, Probation and Penitentiary project
Antwerp - Meeting with Marc Brackeva, President of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Belgium
Madrid - Day of the Pro-Real Academia Foundation
Tirana - Fact finding mission on service of documents in Albania in the framework of the Joint European Union / Council of Europe Programme - Support the Efficiency of Justice - SEJ
Harderwyk - General Assembly of the Royal Association of Dutch judicial officers
Paris - Council of European Presidents of the UIHJ
Paris - UIHJ-EuroDanube
Paris - UIHJ-EuroMed
Rome - Conference on the ELI projects
Paris - Inauguration of the Jacques Isnard Foundation in the premises of the Paris Centre of the National School of Procedure of France
Relations with Institutions
Mathieu Chardon evoked the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law concerning in particular the Hague Convention of 15th November 1965 on international service of documents to the elaboration of which the UIHJ took part. Concerning the CEPEJ, the 1st secretary of the UIHJ said that the working group of the CEPEJ on Quality of justice had integrated execution in the context of its work. He also recalled that the first Global Forum on Enforcement would be held on 10th December 2014 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. This major international event is organised jointly by the CEPEJ and the UIHJ on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement.
Regarding the European Commission, Françoise Andrieux mentioned two major events. The first concerns the meeting held at the European Commission about the comments of the UIHJ on the report of the European Commission of 4th December 2013 on the application of Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 of 13th December 2007 on service of documents in the European Union. When the report was published, the UIHJ immediately responded and wrote its comments. These comments have been previously sent to all European countries of the UIHJ. Françoise Andrieux mentioned the work of the UIHJ in 2009 and presented at the International Symposium of Sibiu (Romania). On this occasion, a survey was conducted in all member countries of the European Union on the service of documents. This survey was the subject of a film report and the writing by the UIHJ of a draft European directive of a harmonised European document initiating proceedings. These Sibiu work were also presented to the European Commission. During the meeting, representatives of the European Commission congratulated the UIHJ for the speed and quality of its comments and proposals, indicating that they would constitute a solid groundwork for the reform of the 1393 Regulation.
A second important two-day meeting was held on training. The UIHJ was commissioned by the European Commission to contact people in member countries of the UIHJ and of the European Union in charge of training judicial officers and invite them to participate in this meeting. During two days, e-Learning training has been widely discussed, knowing that such training should be coupled with face to face training.
Regarding the European Law Institute (ELI), Françoise Andrieux said the UIHJ went to Zagreb (Croatia) from 24 to 26 September 2014 to participate in the General Assembly and the Conference on projects. This was to involve professionals and practitioners in the work of ELI. The UIHJ answered a questionnaire on how these professionals could be incorporated in the work. The UIHJ issued proposals for the improvement of European instruments, training on these instruments, and enforcement. Working groups are formed around themes such as evidence or service of documents. "The UIHJ is at the heart of the Laboratory for improving EU legislation through the ELI" continued the secretary general of the UIHJ.
Bernard Menut, 1st Vice-President of the UIHJ, asked about the relationship between the IMF, the World Bank and the judicial officers. The IMF operates in many countries, at their request. Invariably, the IMF secures the payment of funds to the implementation of reforms, including in the sector of justice. IMF sends experts. Concerning the enforcement component, the IMF asked the help of the UIHJ experts. Experts issue recommendations, which are those put forward by the UIHJ for years. "
This is how the IMF finances missions carried out by the UIHJ experts to promote the values of the UIHJ to improve the situation in countries" observed Bernard Menut. He added that among the tools used by the UIHJ are the elements contained in the Global Code on Enforcement, which include Recommendation Rec(2003)17 of the Council of Europe of 9 September 2003, and the CEPEJ Guidelines on Enforcement.
Françoise Andrieux then gave an account of the 3rd Global Week on Law, Justice and Development, held in October 2014 in the premises of the World Bank in Washington. "
Many decisions such as collective insolvency proceedings are taken at the World Bank and enforced in the regions" remarked the secretary general of the UIHJ. To be influential at the source, the UIHJ has worked to hold a workshop at the Global Week to present its draft of a Global Code on Enforcement under the theme: "
How to improve good governance through the execution of court decisions?”. The UIHJ delegation included Natalie Fricero, professor at the University of Nice (France), member of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ. She was accompanied by John Stacey, President of the CEPEJ, and Sjef van Erp, member of the ELI. In the room were representatives of the World Bank, IMF, and several ministries of justice of various countries. The reception of the Global Code was excellent, said Francoise Andrieux. "
The UIHJ will continue to work to ensure that in the toolbox of the World Bank and the IMF, is the Global Code on Enforcement" said our colleague.
José Carlos Resende, President of the Chamber of Solicitadores of Portugal, took the floor to say that, thanks to the intervention of the Troika and the IMF in his country, Solicitadores were able to obtain the electronic attachment of bank accounts, a great step forward for the profession.
Sue Collins addressed the United Nations Commission for the Development of International Trade (UNCITRAL). UNCITRAL has established six working groups. It invited the UIHJ to attend four of these groups as an observer. The UIHJ has chosen this time to participate in two groups ("Security Interest" and "Bankruptcy Committee"), which meet twice a year. These committees are working on guidelines and framework laws and finally recommendations to implement these frameworks laws.
Alain Bobant, judicial officer (France), intervened to discuss the ongoing work of the Federation of Trusted Third Parties (FNTC) he chairs since 2010. The FNTC is composed of a hundred of industrial companies in digital economy, particularly around electronic signature and electronic archiving, that is to say, securing electronic exchanges in space and time. To these industrial companies joined regulated professionals, including accountants, business clerks, lawyers and judicial officers. Two major events were organised by the FNTC. The first was PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online). The second concerned the symposium on digital trust. Alain Bobant recalled that the UIHJ is a member of the FNTC. In this regard, a project of the UIHJ and the FNTC was presented at the International Congress of judicial officers of Cape Town in 2012: the Digital Trust Project. "
We aim to work this project with great reactivity" assured Alain Bobant. Taking the draft Global Code on Enforcement as an example, he promised that he would ensure that it would be interoperable. "
We must master this technology. Computerised exchanges must go through us. The judicial officer must be the trusted third party of the 3rd millennium" he concluded.
Marc Schmitz, member of the board of the UIHJ, gave a report of the first Asia-Europe meetings of the judicial officers held in Bangkok (Thailand) on 20 and 21 March 2014. The seminar was organised jointly by the UIHJ and the Ministry of Justice of Thailand and its Legal Enforcement Department (LED). It enabled in particular to meet for the first time on the subject of enforcement nine of the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (
Asean).
Link to the article published on the website of the UIHJ.
Honoré Aggrey, vice-president of the UIHJ presented the progress achieved in the context of relations between the UIHJ and the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), its High Regional School for the Judiciary (ERSUMA) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
About Ohada, "
relations are such that the judicial officer will participate in the rewriting of the Uniform Act on Enforcement" declared Honoré Aggrey. At the time these texts were written, judicial officers were not interviewed, he continued. "
We have established relations with this organisation that will allow us to intervene." The Ohada is a model for the world. He said that the President of the CCJ had approached him and told him he wanted to establish relations with Ohada. "
The UIHJ will act as a relay. This demonstrates the importance of our relations", he noted.
About ERSUMA, cooperation will continue, said the vice-president of the UIHJ. As regards WAEMU, he recalled that great things were achieved in a short time as stated by President Netten during his speech.
Sue Collins explained the nature of the relationship between the UIHJ and the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA). She recalled that a cooperation agreement was signed. The UIHJ participated in an international seminar in Argentina. The discussion focused on reforms of the civil law and civil procedure in South American countries. For the first time, a whole afternoon was devoted to enforcement. In some countries, the judicial officers had a high level of training. In others, it is still the judges who act as an enforcement authority. During the meeting, participants agreed that an enforcement agent with a high level of training could effectively deal with enforcement instead of the judge.
Marc Schmitz then mentioned the meeting of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ held in July 2014 at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg (MPIL). He regretted that the cooperation agreement sent to the MPIL had not yet been signed.
International Projects
Bernard Menut addressed the issue of international projects. Many cooperation projects exist. A country may wish to provide financial and technical help to another country or another region in a particular domain, such as enforcement of court decisions. Funding may be bilateral, that is to say between two countries. They may also be European and affect European countries but also other continents. The work of the UIHJ is to be included to bring its expertise. This allows the use of external financing. There are also the United States, Asian investments, Gulf countries, etc. The first vice-president of the UIHJ called on everyone to mobilise to participate in projects alongside the UIHJ. Candidates should be able to go a mission for a week or a fortnight.
Then he mentioned the UIHJ Stobra projects. There are seven projects to date. Each project focuses on identifying best practices in the countries to establish proposals for guidelines. These guidelines will be offered to main organisations and countries to serve as models.
David Walker (Scotland), Member of the Board gave an account of the Stobra work session held on 26th November 2014 on transparency of assets. The project started in March 2014 with a comprehensive questionnaire. 16 countries have responded to date. A round table was held in June 2014 during the Permanent Council of the UIHJ in Crete. The final document will be presented during the 22nd International Congress of judicial officers in Madrid in June 2015.
Tomasz Banach, judicial officer (Poland) presented the action plan of the new Stobra 7 Project on debt collection. A survey of forty questions is being prepared on the issue of debt collection in each country. The assistance of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ will be required. Several countries were selected and visits will be conducted soon in several countries. Secondly, the data will be analysed. This will determine the countries in which debt collection works best. A model will be identified. Thirdly, an international conference will be organised on the subject of debt collection. The project results will be presented and a publication will be made. He said that this project is very important to the Polish judicial officers. President Netten congratulated the National Chamber of Polish judicial officers for taking the lead in this project. He added that the Stobra projects must be driven by members of the UIHJ.
Françoise Andrieux recalled the universities with which cooperation agreements were signed with the UIHJ: University of Mendoza (Argentina), University of Valencia (Spain), University of Constanta (Romania).
Then Patrick Gielen, judicial officer (Belgium) and Fanny Cornette, researcher at the University of Delft (Netherlands), assisted by Mathieu Chardon, presented the Grand Questionnaire of the UIHJ. The first secretary of the UIHJ recalled that the Grand Questionnaire was developed as part of the 21st International Congress of judicial officers of Cape Town in 2012. With its 350 questions about the profession of judicial officer and enforcement measures, it provides an unmatched database in the world. Fifty countries responded to date. To monitor developments in the countries and collect more responses, the board of the UIHJ has recently decided to establish the Working Group on the Grand Questionnaire (UIHJ-GT-QM) around Mathieu Chardon, Patrick Gielen and Fanny Cornette. Patrick Gielen and Fanny Cornette then presented the practical aspects of this questionnaire. They reminded why it was important that all members of the UIHJ fill it. For the duration of the permanent council, Patrick Gielen and Fanny Cornette were made available to countries to help them complete and update the Grand Questionnaire.
Then Bernard Menut discussed the first UIHJ report on enforcement, which was prepared by the working group of the UIJH on Execution (UIHJ-GT-EXE): Françoise Andrieux, Mathieu Chardon, Fanny Cornette, Olof Dahnell Bernard Menut, Guillaume Payan and Jos Uitdehaag. He thanked the National School of Procedure of Paris (ENP), for printing the document. He said that the report would be formally presented on 10th December 2014 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (France), during the 1st Global Forum on Enforcement jointly organised by the UIHJ, the Council of Europe and the CEPEJ. Its ambition is to become a tool to be integrated into the work of the CEPEJ.
Global Code on Enforcement
Françoise Andrieux presented the ongoing work on the Global Code on Enforcement. In 2003, during the International Congress of judicial officers in Tunis, the UIHJ considered the globalisation of law. In 2006, during the International Congress of judicial officers in Washington, it focused its work on the harmonisation of enforcement in the world. This gave birth to the idea of a Global Code on Enforcement. After several years of work carried out under the direction of Natalie Fricero, professor at the University of Nice (France), member of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ, the secretary general of the UIHJ said the Global Code on Enforcement was now in its almost final version. It includes 35 articles, divided into five parts:
- Fundamental principles of enforcement
- The enforcement agent
- The judicial authorities
- The enforcement measures
- The interim measures.
The Global Code incorporates the international standards that have been identified by the Scientific Council of the UIHJ. It also takes into account the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement and the jurisprudence of supranational courts. This code will be sent to all departments of justice in the world and to all the heads of delegations of the member countries of the UIHJ. The official presentation will be made during the 22nd International Congress of judicial officers in Madrid in June 2015.
The gala evening took place on Thursday night in the new premises of the Paris Centre of the National School of Procedure of France (ENP). We should especially thank the ENP and its President, Jean-Michel Rouzaud, as well as Jacques Isnard, René Duperray and Luisa Lozano, who worked so hard to get everything ready. The members of the UIHJ could discover the brand-new and prestigious premises and its two attractions related to Jacques Isnard: the library he donated to the ENP through a foundation and the Museum of the judicial officer. Everyone could judge its unique culture and heritage by following the guided tour of the former president of the UIHJ. Guests were able to appreciate the finest dishes in music, with two singers whose talent was appreciated by all: Dagma Podkonický, wife of the treasurer of the UIHJ, and Clara Chardon, daughter of 1st secretary of the UIHJ.
The following morning the workshop of the Permanent Council was devoted to the project co-funded by the European Commission led by the National Chamber of judicial officers of Estonia in cooperation with the UIHJ, the National Chambers of judicial officers of Latvia and Lithuania and the Ministry of justice of Estonia: Cross-Border Enforcement Proceedings Tools (CEPT). The workshop was led by Mathieu Chardon. Janek Pool, president of the National Chamber of judicial officers of Estonia and Loonik Jaan, Counsellor at the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Estonia took the floor.
“
It is our pleasure to inform you that our common co-operation project is successfully ongoing” mentioned Janek Pool. Currently the first results concerning CEPT are already visible, he continued. Today creditors who want to collect debts owed to them in another EU Member State are confronted with a number of problems. At the moment, for starting an enforcement procedure, the required documents are submitted to the enforcement agent in the EU Member State in written form. This is due to a lack of alternative solutions which would allow for the authentication of the submitted documents to be inspected, since digital signatures are mostly used domestically and with regards to cross-border communication their use is not widely spread. Costs and delays resulting thereof may sometimes cause a situation in which claims will remain unenforced. CEPT will simplify the process of the cross-border enforcement procedure and alleviates the problems described.
CEPT will make available:
1. to start an enforcement proceeding in another EU Member State;
2. to send and archive documents and data electronically to the Member States;
3. to check up on the current status of the enforcement proceeding;
4. to provide interconnections with information registers;
5. to participate in the enforcement proceeding electronically;
6. to carry out more efficient supervision.
In other words, CEPT could be a common proceeding tool for judicial officers in all over EU.
Among other topics, Françoise Andrieux gave an account of the annual training day held in Brussels. The training focused on the European Enforcement Order which celebrates its tenth anniversary, the European attachment of bank accounts and the e-Justice programme of the European Commission. The secretary general of the UIHJ explained that the next training sessions will be held in modules with selected themes that will be offered to countries.
Mathieu Chardon said that after the Vade Mecum on service of documents in the European Union, two Vade Mecums would be prepared in the coming months, one on the European Enforcement Order and the other on the European Order for Payment. For several years, the UIHJ aims to create a world bibliography on the profession and enforcement measures. Fanny Cornette agreed to continue the project and to bring it to an end. The idea, said the first secretary of the UIHJ, is to build on the website of the UIHJ this global bibliography and lead the users to the websites of publishing companies where they can order the books of their choices.
Reports of the Permanent Delegates of the UIHJ
The permanent delegates of the UIHJ then presented their activities reports. Olof Dahnell (Sweden) is the permanent delegate for the Scandinavian countries. In Finland, it was requested by the authorities for the Enforcement Department to improve productivity and profit without compromising legal certainty. In other words, to reduce costs. A restructuring was decided. In Norway, there has been this year an increase of about 8% of the number of enforcement cases and debt collection. The Police Department is being reorganised but it is likely that enforcement will remain under its jurisdiction. In Denmark, since 1st November 2014, all citizens only receive public notices by electronic means. Every person has a secure access to an electronic mailbox. It is up to him/her to read important messages. Dematerialisation of judicial proceedings is also underway in the courts. In Sweden, the Execution Code will be revised. This reform has been expected for about ten years.
Mohamed Chérif, deputy treasurer of the board of the UIHJ and permanent delegate of the UIHJ for the Maghreb countries, discussed the situation in Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria. In Tunisia, the country is awaiting the presidential elections and judicial officers hope that the situation will improve. In Morocco, the authorities listen carefully to the recommendations made in the South programme funded by the European Commission and operated by the Council of Europe. In Mauritania, it is planned to organise shortly an international conference. In Algeria, Brahim Bouchachi was elected new president of the National Chamber of Judicial officers.
David Walker is the permanent delegate of the UIHJ for the United Kingdom and Ireland. In England and Wales, in April 2014, a new law came into force. It concerns the seizure of property and the strengthening of training. In Scotland, the referendum of September 2014 determined that the country wanted to stay in the UK. A paperless project is underway concerning the court system. The new president of the Association of Sheriffs of Scotland will soon be elected during the meeting.
Sue Collins, permanent delegate of the UIHJ for America gave an account of the activities in North America. In the US, states are interested in the training of Sheriffs. There are talks about reinforcing penalties for assault on a Process Server. In the field of dematerialisation, in several states, all exchanges must be dematerialised with the courts. The National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS) is working on a programme that will allow all Process Servers to receive documents electronically and in a secure way. She referred to a scandal that was revealed by a large corporation of Process Servers in New York that failed to serve the documents. Many citizens were condemned by default when no document had actually been served. In addition to the sentence of imprisonment of the heads of this corporation, from now on, Process Servers companies must provide multiple safeguards in their work (photographs, satellite tracking, reports, etc.). This is spreading and these new methods are being extended to other states.
Concerning the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA), a conference will be held in January 2015 in Washington DC. Sue Collins spoke of the past five years she has participated in meetings of the NSA. Over time, the UIHJ has been accepted within the NSA committees. Civilian aspects were incorporated. The NSA has accepted that the UIHJ hold a workshop during the annual conferences. Quickly, the idea of privatising the enforcement of decisions in civil matters has interested many Sheriffs who participated in the workshops. Today, Sue Collins is a full member of the Committee on Civil Affairs and got the right to vote. This is an unprecedented achievement.
Interventions of Heads of Delegation
Brahim Bouchachi, President of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Algeria thanked the UIHJ and its president for their work. He recalled that Algeria had joined the UIHJ in 1995. He hoped that the UIHJ could give more support to the profession in Algeria and that Arabic could become an official language of the UIHJ. He concluded by calling for an ever more united International Union. President Netten thanked the Algerian president for his words. As of Arabic as an official language, he said that this was not possible at the moment, for financial and logistic reasons.
Alain Ngongang, President of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Cameroon mentioned the six major events that have marked the life of its steering committee:
- The General Meeting of 21st March 2014, with the theme: "The judicial officer at the service of the economic emergence";
- The World Day of the judicial officer on 12th June 2014;
- The training of judicial officers, through the support programme for the justice sector (PAJ), funded by the European Union, which has trained about 360 judicial officers of Cameroon;
- The announcement of an Ufohja seminar in N'Djamena (Chad), which has unfortunately been cancelled for security reasons regarding Europeans;
- The progress of the profession in favour of judicial officers practicing in small communities;
- And the activities related to the life of the profession: contacts with the enforcement agents of the Central African Republic, the scientific journal to be published in 2015, cooperation agreements with the National Chamber of the judicial officers of France and the National School of Procedure France. In this regard, he thanked Bernard Menut, Françoise Andrieux and Jean-Michel Rouzaud. He also asked for the help from the UIHJ so that African judicial officers could be equipped with computer software dedicated to the profession.
André Bizier, President of the Chamber of Judicial officers of the province of Quebec of Canada announced that several new responsibilities will be devolved to judicial officers with the entry into force of the new Code of Civil Procedure in 2016. New courses are planned for this end.
Eftimios Preketes, President of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Greece, mentioned two issues of particular concern to Greek judicial officers: changing the territorial jurisdiction and tariff reform. He said that the proposals of the Greek Chamber did comply with the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement.
Roman Talmaci, president of the National Union of judicial officers of Moldova (UNEJ), gave an overview of developments in the profession in his country since its inception in October 2010. The Moldovan Chamber organised over 30 board meetings. It did participate in over 280 meetings with national authorities. He said that the World Bank had recognised that the reform of the enforcement system in Moldova was among the twelve most successful reforms in the world in 2011. The 2014 report of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) states that the first two places in the countries covered by his study of enforcement systems are occupied by Georgia and Moldova. Furthermore the UNEJ is very present in the media, which contributes to a positive image of the profession. Finally, Roman Talmaci discussed the ongoing project with the Centre for International Legal Cooperation (CILC).
Artur Parfenchikov, Director of the Federal Enforcement Service of the Russian Federation, spoke about the different conferences that were held in Russia since 2010 on the practical and theoretical issues related to the enforcement of court decisions. He said that the next conference will be held in September 2015 in Siberia near Lake Baikal.
Presentation video.
