The UEHJ Takes Over From the UIHJ with Regards to European Union Matters

The European Union of Judicial Officers (UEHJ) is an international association established under Belgian law on 14 July 2016. Its headquarters are in Brussels. Its purpose, in close coordination with the International Union of Judicial Officers is:
1.    The development, promotion and representation of the profession of the Judicial Officer within the various Member States of the European Union;
2.    The representation of the profession of Judicial Officer with the institutions of the European Union through the expression of a common position;
3.    The strengthening of cooperation, with the various professions, associated with the legal sphere of influence of the Judicial Officer profession;
4.    The participation of representatives of the Judicial Officer profession, in relevant public consultation, organised within the European Union;
5.    The participation of the Judicial Officer profession, in relevant projects financed by the European Union, particularly in respect of judicial cooperation;
6.    The coordination of the Judicial Officer profession within the European Union to promote global standards and best practices within the profession;
7.    The organisation of relevant activities, relating to the training of Judicial Officers within the European Union;
8.    The representation of the Judicial Officer profession within the European Union, in consultation with other international organisations and institutions or third party countries;
9.    All relevant activities and services, for the benefit of its members, relating directly or indirectly to its stated objectives.

The constituent assembly of the UEHJ was held in Paris on 23 November 2016. The UEHJ currently comprises 25 member countries of the UIHJ:
1.    Belgium
2.    Bulgaria
3.    Cyprus
4.    Czech Republic
5.    Denmark
6.    England and Wales
7.    Estonia
8.    Finland
9.    Germany
10.    Greece
11.    Hungary
12.    Italy
13.    Latvia
14.    Lithuania
15.    Luxembourg
16.    Montenegro (Observer member)
17.    The Netherlands
18.    Poland
19.    Portugal
20.    Romania
21.    Scotland
22.    Serbia (observer member)
23.    Slovakia
24.    Spain
25.    Sweden

The Executive committee consists in:
-    President: Françoise Andrieux, President of the UIHJ;
-    Vice-Président: José Carlos Resende (Portugal);
-    Treasurer : Juraj Podkonicky (Czech Republic);
-    Secretary: Janek Pool (Estonia);
-    Members: Walter Gietmann (Germany), Zsolt Orell (Hungary), Dimitris Tsitsonis (Greece);
-    Secretary General: Dovile Satkauskiene (Lithuania).

The first meeting of the Executive Committee of the UEHJ was held at its headquarters in Brussels on 31 January 2017. The purpose of the meeting was to organise the taking over of the UEHJ from the UIHJ as regards European Union matters. The Executive Committee immediately set to work. The first work concerns the Stobra projects, starting with the finalisation of the questionnaires on the state of the profession in the European Union concerning seizure of immovable property, service of documents, transparency of assets, statement of facts, information technologies and debt collection. These questionnaires will be distributed shortly to each member state of the UEHJ and will serve as the basis for the Stobra symposium to be held in October 2017.

At the end of the meeting, Emmanuelle Cretin-Magand and Michal Wiktorowicz, representatives of the Directorate-General for Justice of the European Commission, visited the UEHJ headquarters to meet the members of the Executive Committee. Françoise Andrieux presented the UEHJ and the different projects in progress. The representatives of the European Commission expressed their great interest in the creation of the EHU, and the work in progress. They expressed the wish of the European Commission to work closely with the UEHJ.