Record breaking participation at the November 2005 UIHJ Permanent Council in Paris

49 UIHJ events on 4 continents in eleven months

In his opening speech, Jacques Isnard, president of UIHJ, thanked all the delegations which travelled from four continents to attend the traditional Paris Permanent Council, showing signs of full support of the actions lead by the board of UIHJ.

After the unanimous approbation of the November 2004 Paris Permanent Council, president Isnard made a report on the state of the profession in the world and on the perspectives for the future. Our president recalled that UIHJ now includes 63 Member States and has regular contacts with a dozen entities on an international level, with an address book full of 70 to 75 countries and international organizations, making UIHJ one the biggest international law organizations.

Since the beginning of 2005, UIHJ organized and participate in 28 conferences, seminars or colloquiums, 7 meetings with the European institutions, 9 board meetings, has welcomed two trainees organizations and three delegations in Paris: in total, 49 events during the last eleven months on four continents, which represents a 20% increase compared with last year.

Actions were developed mainly in three sectors:

development of economic activities of the profession

Co-operation, training and Club of UIHJ cards

UIHJ relations with Ohada, the American Law Institute (Ali) and Unidroit are excellent. Actions were developed through internal organs and through the Committee of UIHJ which also works for the Washington D.C. Congress. In the training domain, actions took place in Thailand with several seminars. Two groups of Thai colleagues went to France.

In Algeria, the idea of creating a school of procedure was considered, with the help of the French National school of procedure.

In Cuba, a seminar took place with our colleague Dominique Aribaut.

Concerning the Ohada zone, Ufohja (UIHJ Training Unit for African Judicial Officers) seminars were organized with the participation of the ENP (French National school of Procedure) and its president, Abel Pansard, in Mali, Benin and Congo.
In the domain of co-operation, the new conception of UIHJ Magazine meets a growing success with our readers.
The president added: “We have launched this year the personal membership cards of UIHJ. Now we talk of the UIHJ Club. Our objective was to reach 300 members. Today, we are more than 700. A special note must be given to Hungary as the entire profession has joined the Club. This means that our budget has increased up to 20%, which is considerable”. Concerning the extension of UIHJ, continued Jacques Isnard, we have worked with Thailand as well as with Brazil with the help of our Portuguese friends. Today, the entire country is a member of UIHJ. We are pursuing our relationship with Cuba, China, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Central Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Libya, United Arab Emirates and Russia, adding  up to a total of 74 countries with which we are in contact, without forgetting Azerbaijan and Moldova which are present today. We also have contacts with Ukraine, thanks to our Hungarian colleagues, as well as  with Serbia, Fyrom (Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia) and Croatia”.
And the president to conclude his report by indicating that UIHJ, through its actions, took an active part in the fight against the private justice system, and therefore developing his image.

 

European and African actions

Nicola Hesslén then made the presentation of her annual report pertaining to the Scandinavian countries. In Denmark, there is a re-organization of the jurisdictions that should be implemented in January 2007: the 96 current courts will turn to only 15. In Norway, the association of Judicial Officers has asked to join UIHJ and should do so during the Washington D.C. Congress, at the end of April 2006.

In Sweden, a reorganization of the Enforcement Department is being studied but the proposition to give more power to the Enforcement service unfortunately has not succeeded. Mrs Hesslén also mentioned the problems relating to “wild” enforcement by the Hell's Angels.

In Finland, the 4th Nordic Seminar took place in Helsinki, in presence of Leo Netten and Roger Dujardin, with the results that we know (See our article in this magazine). “But we have no contacts with Iceland and we are pursuing our process towards our colleagues”, concluded Nicola Hesslén.

David Walker (Scotland), mentioned the situation of Messengers-at-Arms in Scotland. A new law is due pertaining to insolvency and bankruptcy. This is the most ambitious reform ever envisaged by the Parliament. The professions of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriffs will also be reformed. There are talks of suppressing the Messengers-at-Arms in favour of a new body of Judicial Officers, maybe called the Messengers-of-the-Court.

Honoré Aggrey presented his report concerning activities on the African Continent. In the Central and Oriental parts, the profession has drastically changed since the Dakar Conference in May 1996. Under the light of his architect, Jacques Isnard, said our colleague, training in Africa has started. The eleven Ohada countries have chosen as a motto the promotion of Judicial Officers through training. Ufohja was therefore created. “With the help of UIHJ and all of you, said Honoré Aggrey, 18 seminars took place in Africa during the last six years. Everyone benefited from the expertise of the French National school of procedure (ENP). Booklets were made. This way of working allows for the National organizations to relay the training locally.”

Honoré Aggrey also thanked the ENP, the board of the school and its president Abel Pansard and Vice-President Jean-Michel Rouzeaud. Judicial Officers are now familiar with Ohada Uniform Acts and they now master their mechanisms. The idea of drafting a Uniform Act was launched. To this end, a commission was appointed to draft a Uniform Act relating to the transmission of documents and exequatur. It is also question to encourage the creation of a highly qualified jurist's body of Judicial Officers. Judicial Officers can only obtain this quality, this strength, if the profession is very well organized. To promote this idea, a project of status for African Judicial Officers is currently being drafted.
But many efforts are still to be made on the level of National organizations. Our Ivorian colleague added that he went to Ghana and made promising contacts. Judicial Officers exist there, even if they are civil servants, like in Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “I hope they will soon enlarge the Members of UIHJ”, he added optimistically.
Still in Africa, Robbie Schielz (South Africa) recalled the important meeting that took place in Pretoria in February 2005 which gathered together delegations from South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe, with the presence of the Vice-Minister of Justice. A resolution was adopted during this seminar (See our report in UIHJ Magazine n°18 and on our Website: www.uihj.com).

President Isnard came back to evoke the Lisbon Permanent Council (Portugal) and renewed his thanks to President Da Cunha for his excellent welcome and organization of this international event.

Leo Netten spoke about the European Presidents Conference that was held in Paris in March 2005. A report on the EC Council Regulation 1348/2000 on the service of documents was made on that occasion. The first Vice-President of UIHJ mentioned that the regulation will be revised and that the text is currently being drafted by the European Commission and, to that respect, it was regrettable that no Judicial Officers from the New EU countries participated. “It is advisable that Judicial Officers be Transmitting and Receiving Agencies” he concluded.

The Washington D.C. Congress soon to come

Sue Collins, president of the Washington D.C. Congress, made a speech to say how the Napps, as well as the Associations of Process Servers, the Constables and the Sheriffs of the USA, were happy and proud to welcome UIHJ at the end of April 2006 for the 19th congress of our organization, the first one on the territory of the USA. Mrs Collins said that everything will be made to ensure that the trip will be an unforgettable one for every participant.

Amongst the activities, alongside with the congress works, it will possible to attend a base ball game - the #1 sport in USA. Trips in Washington D.C. will be organized and it will also be possible to go to New York as the Post Congress trip. A Country and Western evening will also be given in Washington D.C.

Regarding the works of the Congress, they will include the traditional audiovisual session, workshops and round tables, an international conference, the Permanent Council and the election of the new board for 2006 to 2009.

This year, three new countries attended the Permanent Council: Thailand, Azerbaijan and Moldova.
The representative of Thailand, accompanied with Mrs Pimonrat Vattanahathai, Judge at the Supreme Court indicated that his country wished to work with the whole of the other UIHJ countries. He said that 70% of the 2 300 Judicial Officers are women, working in 103 offices spread out on the entire territory of Thailand. The representative for Thailand mentioned that the profession will open in the future to a private practice. After having thanked Jacques Isnard for the actions UIHJ lead in favour of Thailand, he invited a delegation to come to his superb country.

In echo to the words pronounced by the Thai representative, Mr Alikhanov, Chief Judicial Officer of the Republic of Azerbaijan, regretted that there are at the moment only two Azeri women working as Judicial Officers in the Republic of Azerbaijan and hoped that, under the good influence of UIHJ, this figure will quickly grow. Mr Alikhanov, thanked president Isnard for the opportunity given to Azerbaijan to join UIHJ. Our colleague also wanted to publicly thank Bernard Menut for the actions that he is currently leading towards the reform of the profession and enforcement in his country. “It is important that Azerbaijan become a Member of UIHJ” recorded Mr Alikhanov, in his name and in the one of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan. “The atmosphere here tends to prove that UIHJ is like a big family where everyone can debate for the benefit of all and I am proud that my profession will soon be part of this family”, concluded Mr Alikhanov, under the applauses of the participants.

For the Republic of Moldova, Mr Devderea, Chief Judicial Officer, thanked the Council of Europe, which allowed for the visit of a Moldovan delegation to Paris, at the initiative of Mathieu Chardon, Member of the Committee of UIHJ. The delegation visited the French National chamber of Judicial Officers, the French national school of procedure as well as Mr Chardon's office in Versailles. The Enforcement Department was created in 2002 by the Ministry of Justice, Mr Devderea told us. The 292 Judicial Officers of the Republic of Moldova are civil servants et enforce in total around 400 000 enforceable titles each year, in civil and penal matters. Mr Devderea said that he was particularly happy to attend the Permanent Council and to meet as many delegations.

 

A prestigious party thrown by the French National Chamber of Judicial Officers

The traditional party thrown by the French National Chamber of Judicial Officers took place in the prestigious French Automobile Club, Place de la Concorde in Paris. The Vice-President of the French National Chamber, Paul Rochard (today President), in the name of President Yves Martin, the Board of the French National Chamber of Judicial Officers, as well as all the French Judicial Officers, welcomed all the delegations, mentioning that they should consider the French National Chamber of Judicial Officers, where the Permanent Council took place, as the house of the Judicial Officers of the entire world.

At the term of the Permanent Council, president Isnard wished everyone a safe return home and said he was deeply looking forwards to see everyone again in Washington D.C., at the 19th International Congress of UIHJ.