Over the last few years it became obvious that the ENCJ should focus its work. The financial and human resources available are limited and  the need was felt to deliver concrete results. Therefore the ENCJ decided to develop a strategic plan. After a procedure which involved a SWOT analysis by the Members and Observers and a brain-storm session with all ENCJ Members present, a final text was proposed by the Steering Committee. The Strategic Plan was adopted by the ENCJ Members in April 2010. The aim of the strategic plan is to identify the strengths and strategic goals of the ENCJ which are essential to achieve our vision.

The ENCJ Mission

The ENCJ is the body which unites all Councils for the Judiciary of the EU Member States and represents them in the EU.

It reinforces an independent yet accountable judiciary and promotes best practices to enable the judiciary to deliver timely and effective justice for the benefit of all.

The ENCJ Vision

• a unique body representing the judicial perspective to European institutions
• the centre of a vibrant forum for the Judiciary across Europe
• the main support for independent Councils for the Judiciary

all to enable the Judiciary to optimise the timely and effective delivery of Justice for the benefit of all.

The strategic objectives of the ENCJ are:

• To strengthen sustainable relations with the EU institutions
• To optimise the provision of expertise and opinions on the Justice Sector
• To promote the development of independent Councils for the Judiciary
• To promote best practices in the Justice Sector for quality management
• To optimise the organization and functioning of the ENCJ

The implementation plan 2011-2012

All four major projects were launched at a joint meeting in The Hague on 15/16 September. The four major projects that will be worked on are:

1. Judicial Reform in Europe

The objectives of the project are to assess the proces of judicial reforom in Europe and to contribute to the creation of guidelines for judicial reform.

2. Standards II

The objective of the project is to identify indicators that might help evaluate the compliance of judicial systems with the standards identified in selection and appointment of judges.

3. Justice, Society and Media

The objective of the project is to share best-practices in the field of Judiciary-Media relations (including social media) and to draft a set of recommendations. 

4. Requests for Cooperation

The objective of the project is to consider the method by which the ENCJ can respond to requests for cooperation and to consider the appropriate limits of that cooperation.

The implementation plan 2010-2011

All four projects that will be implemented during 2010/2011 were launched at a joint kick-off meeting that was organised in Leuven at the Catholic University on 11 and 12 October.  The Minister of Justice of Belgium - who presided the European Union Council of Ministers of Justice July-December 2010 - recognised the role the ENCJ - and Councils for the Judiciary could play in the EU. The voice of the judges can be heard and the ENCJ should not hesitate to make it heard when it considers that the practical implementation of a European legislation is not satisfying or does not meet the expected goals.

Intervention Mr. Stefaan DE CLERCK, Minister of Justice, Belgium

The four projects that will be implemented during the next year are:

Project nr 1. – Councils for the Judiciary 

Strategic Goal 3 -To promote the development of independent Councils for the Judiciary

• Collection of all relevant information (including soft information) on the Councils for the judiciary (composition, competences, etc.), regular updating
• Development and publication (notably on the ENCJ website) of a Handbook on Councils for the Judiciary

 Project nr. 2 - Quality and Timeliness

• Provision of information on and development of best practices in the justice sector on selected topics such as quality management, transparency and access to justice
• Updating and supplementing information on the best practices in the justice sector
• Regular organisation of conferences gathering the stakeholders (including decision makers) on a specific topic in the Justice Sector

 Project 3 - Measurement of National and Transnational Public Confidence

Strategic Goal 4 - To promote best practices in the Justice sector for quality management

Development of the assessment and monitoring of Public and Transnational Mutual Confidence in the Justice system in the EU

* With transnational  is meant the confidence of an EU citizen in the Justice System of other EU Member States

 Project 4 - Standards and Evaluation

Strategic Goal 4 - To promote best practices in the Justice sector for quality management

Development (where appropriate in cooperation with other institutions such as CEPEJ) of representative minimum standards for the Justice Sector (i.e in the field of competences/judicial appointments criteria, judicial training; processing of information; judicial ethics)

 Power point presentation of the ENCJ Strategic Plan