Presentation of the Global Code of Enforcement to the French Ministry of Justice

 During the 1st Global Forum on Enforcement, which was held in Strasbourg (France) on 10 December 2014 at the Council of Europe, organised by the UIHJ and the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) the draft Global Code of Enforcement prepared by the UIHJ was presented, sparking immediate interest on the part of many participants, among which was the French Ministry of Justice.

In this context, the UIHJ was invited to present in more details its project to the French Ministry of Justice. The UIHJ delegation included its President, Leo Netten, its General Secretary, Françoise Andrieux, its First Secretary, Mathieu Chardon, and the architect of the Global Code of Enforcement, Natalie Fricero, professor at the University of Nice (France), and member of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ. The delegation was received by Gilles Malfre, head of the Processual Law and Labour Law Office at the Civil Affairs department of the French Ministry of Justice, and Damien Pons, writer in this office.

After a presentation of the UIHJ, Leo Netten explained the importance of the enforcement of judgments in the world. He indicated that the UIHJ has always invested in promoting the profession of judicial officer and enforcement proceedings. The UIHJ was very active particularly in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall to promote a profession of independent, liberal, qualified and responsible judicial officer, like that in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. This approach was successful: under the impulse of the UIHJ, ten of the thirteen States that joined the EU since 2004 have implemented this model prior to their entry into the European Union. This work has led to consider harmonising the development of universal common rules relating to the enforcement of court decisions in the light of the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement of 17 December 2009. "One of the results of the global crisis is that the world realises that without a good enforcement, we do not help the economy" ruled President Netten. He added that the UIHJ presented the outline of the Global Code during the Global Week of Law, Justice and Development organised by the World Bank in Washington in October 2014. Now the UIHJ intends to meet the ministries of justice around the world to present this code. Leo Netten announced his hosts that France was "the first country where we present the Global Code".

Francoise Andrieux went on to say that the UIHJ has been considering common standards on enforcement for over ten years. "Effective enforcement is a sign of good governance" she said. She continued: "We believe that the Global Code is a tool for good governance, a legal and economic tool". The General Secretary of the UIHJ recalled that the Global Code has already been presented to several international organisations (the World Bank, Uncitral, the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the Council of Europe, Ohada, Association Henri Capitant) during the international conference it organised in Lome (Togo) in September 2013, where it was warmly welcomed. However, the official presentation of the text will be made at the beginning of June 2015 in Madrid during the 22nd International Congress of Judicial Officers.

Natalie Fricero outlined the Global Code of Enforcement. The code was written under her direction by the Scientific Council of the UIHJ which includes a panel of twelve professors and specialists in enforcement procedures in Europe, Africa, America and Asia. The Global Code of Enforcement incorporates the standards for the protection of human rights, fundamental rights and respect of international rules. It was inspired by the American Model Laws that address the differences between states. Regarding the UIHJ, Natalie Fricero considered that this international organisation covers a scope of interest for ministries as regards law making. Experts of the UIHJ have experience in the field of legislative expertise internationally. This allows the promotion of civil law and French law. Professor Fricero said the UIHJ is regularly involved in the training of legal professionals, generating good harmonised practices, including enforcement. She also mentioned the influence of the UIHJ within international organisations: "in the latest CEPEJ report on European judicial systems, Chapter 13 on enforcement was written in partnership with the UIHJ. This is important at international level. "

Among the works carried out by the UIHJ, Mathieu Chardon stressed the importance, at European level, to establish a harmonised document instituting proceedings for cross-border disputes. This would make all European regulations currently in force more consistent. He recalled that the UIHJ organised an international symposium in 2009 in Sibiu (Romania), on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Tampere European summit of October 1999. An assessment report on the service of documents was made in most states of the European Union. Reflection resulted in the drafting of a European directive of a harmonised document instituting proceedings for cross-border disputes. The First Secretary of the UIHJ recalled the existence of the Grand questionnaire UIHJ. The questionnaire consists of 350 questions echoing the CEPEJ Guidelines. More than 50 countries responded. In the light of this big data, the UIHJ could write its first report on the efficiency of enforcement in the world, a report which was presented during the 1st Global Forum on Enforcement.

During the nearly two hours of the meeting, Gilles Malfre and Damien Pons were extremely attentive and interested in the explanations of the delegation of the UIHJ. Mr Malfre said the Ministry of Justice would draft and address the UIHJ its comments on the Global Code of Enforcement.

The UIHJ has engaged in a marathon to raise awareness and promote the good governance tool for law and economy that is the Global Code of Enforcement. This first stage at the French Ministry of Justice is particularly encouraging for the future.