The Hague Conference on Private International Law (the Hague Conference) organizes each year in spring the meeting of its council on general affairs and policy. This three days meeting gathers all sixty-nine Member States of this organization. It makes it possible to give a progress report on the state of the works in progress and to lay down the general policy for the years to come. On 19 January 2010, the president of the UIHJ, Leo Netten, its vice-president, Roger Dujardin and its 1st secretary, Mathieu Chardon, went to the seat of the Hague in the Hague (Netherlands), to meet there its general secretary, Hans van Loon, its 1st secretary Christophe Bernasconi, and its secretary, Marta Pertegas. This meeting made it possible to define the bases of a reinforced collaboration between the two organizations. In this context, the UIHJ was invited to take part in the annual meeting of the Hague Conference. The UIHJ was represented by Leo Netten and Mathieu Chardon.
Two significant events marked this meeting. The Hague Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations was signed and ratified by the European Union. On the same occasion, Albania acceded to the Hague Conventions of 1 March 1954 on civil procedure and of 1 February 1971 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.
In addition, Christophe Bernasconi announced that the Website of the Hague Conference (www.hcch.net) was henceforth also available in German.
The UIHJ gave a presentation of position on e-Justice and judicial officers. This position paper particularly interests the Hague Conference within the framework of the update of the Hague convention of 15 November 1965 on the service abroad of documents in civil and commercial matters, in particular relating to the possibility of carrying out service by protected electronic way through a trusted third party who is the judicial officer. For this reason, the UIHJ proposes to become the root certification authority, as suggested in the position paper.
The representatives of the Hague Conference cordially thanked the UIHJ for this presentation and the ideas that it contains. Undoubtedly, the electronic service sat on a protected protocol controlled by judicial officers should be able to be considered today relating to cross-border matter.
Judicial officers in the middle of e-Justice
Position Paper - April 2010
The International Union of Judicial Officers (UIHJ) was created in 1952. It gathers 70 countries today. The purpose of the organization is to represent its members to international organizations and ensure a good collaboration with national professional bodies. It works to improve national procedural law and international treaties and makes every effort to promote ideas, projects and initiatives which help to move forward and elevate the independent status of judicial officers.
The UIHJ is a member of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The UIHJ is involved in the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, specifically in the planning of conventions relating to the service of documents and enforcement. It is a permanent observer member of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council of Europe and took an active part for this reason in the development of its Guide Lines of December 17th, 2009 on execution of legal decisions . It took part in the work which led to the update of (EC) Regulation n°1348/2000 of May 29th, 2000 on the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters. It also participated in the reflections aiming at opening the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters of the European commission to legal professions. Furthermore, it currently takes part in the work of the Forum Justice group set up by the European Commission as well as its e-Justice project.
The UIHJ is presently working on a n ambitious project aiming at creating a World Code of Enforcement, in co-operation with law professionals and professors of universities from the whole world.
The European Court of Human Rights established that the execution of a judgment given by any court must be regarded as an integral part of the "trial" for the purposes of Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights .
The same court recognized that judicial officers work in the interest of a good administration of justice, which makes them an essential element of the Rule of law .
In a global world largely dominated by economy, it matters that lawyers fulfill their role by reinforcing the presence and the prestige of the law. As regards enforcement law, the UIHJ intends to use its wide experience and its influence to ensure the efficiency of enforcement of legal decisions everywhere where that will be possible.
This action fits the idea of a triple necessity to improve access to justice, co-operation between legal authorities and effectiveness of justice on which is based the European strategy on e-Justice .
How can judicial officers improve access to justice through e-Justice?
1. By becoming the trusted third party for the dematerialized exchanges in the legal and extra-judicial field
There are a great number of certification authorities, which makes the use of electronic signature difficult. At the end of 2009, the UIHJ created within its structure an e-Justice group. One of its objectives is to make the UIHJ the root certification authority for the dematerialized exchanges in the legal and extra-judicial field. That would allow the simplification and the security of these exchanges.
2. By joining the creation of the Wide European e-Justice Portal
On the level of information and communication technologies (ICT), the creation of a European area of justice is faced with many technical and linguistics constraints. It is important for citizens and businesses that these constraints (incompatibility of technical standards, linguistics incomprehension, specificity of the legal field), are no longer a curb on access to justice. The idea of a wide European portal launched by the Council of the European Union must become a reality in spite of the great complexity of this task.
The UIHJ and the whole of its members are ready to take up this challenge at the sides of the European Union.
How can judicial officers improve the co-operation between legal authorities through e-Justice?
1. By creating an electronic database on the occupation of judicial officer
The great diversity of the activities of judicial officers in the world contributes to give a fuzzy and distorted image of this profession both near the public and the authorities. The UIHJ has worked for several years to set up an electronic database on judicial officers. This database will initially make it possible to draw up a general inventory of fixtures of the profession and in the second time to be used as a base for its harmonization at international level.
2. By setting up a worldwide network of judicial officers
The UIHJ supports the creation of a worldwide network of judicial officers within the framework of a cooperative project in the field of the service of judicial and extra-judicial documents and debt collecting. This implies the development of an electronic tool that the judicial officers of all countries could use in cases of cross-border debt collecting. Citizens would be also informed of the activities of judicial officers.
3. By taking part in the work of international organizations
Today, it is established that law professionals should be associated with all work which aims at improving the efficiency of justice. In their capacity as expert, the experience of these law professionals is essential within the framework of the development of the legislative corpus. The UIHJ is very present on the international legal arena and shows daily that its expertise and its experience are major assets in the creation of a European area of justice and, beyond, a worldwide area of justice.
How can judicial officers improve the efficiency of justice through e-Justice?
1. By harmonizing the documents initiating proceedings
The great disparity of the modes of initiating court proceedings and in the world is a source of confusion and constitutes a barrier for the comprehension and thus for the efficiency of legal procedures. On this basis and upon a study which it carried out in the near total of the European Union States, the UIHJ prepared in 2009 a draft European directive creating a harmonized document initiating proceedings. This project, which includes the dematerialized introduction of court proceedings made safe by the judicial officers, has a true international purpose.
2. By securing electronic exchanges between citizens
The question of the security of electronic exchanges is related to that of the proof of their good routing between citizens. By the trust conferred to them by the authorities and by means of made safe electronic protocols, the judicial officers are able to ensure the good transmission of electronic exchanges between citizens and to ensure their proof.
3. By reinforcing the efficiency of enforcement through ICT
A secure access to information concerning the inheritance of the defendant should be generalized for the judicial officers, and all state bodies which administer databases with information required for efficient enforcement should have a duty to provide the information to the judicial officer, in accordance with the wishes of the CEPEJ Guide lines as regards execution . This access to information is essential for the improvement of the efficiency of enforcement procedures.
Whenever possible the UIHJ also encourages the implementation of dematerialized enforcement procedures by judicial officers: attachment on salaries, seizures of banking assets, attachment of shares, movable and immovable auctions on the Internet, ...
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