European Judicial Area

Mrs Reding addresses ENCJ in Leuven

Mrs Reding, vice- president of the European Commission and in charge of Justice affairs, addressed the ENCJ that gathered in Leuven on 11 October. She reiterrated the importance of knowledge and trust between judiciaries in the other European legal systems. Mutual trust must be earned and cannot be forced. Minimum procedural safeguards for suspets, and victims rights will build fairer and better justice systems in Europe. She called upon the ENCJ Members to join her in giving these policy areas the attention they need.

Videolink to the Speech of Mrs Reding : "Justice in Europe"

Staying up-to-date

The European E-Justice web portal was launched by the EU in July 2010 in 22 official EU languages. It is an easily accessible tool for citizens, businesses, legal practitioners and the judiciary, dealing with cross-border legal issues, providing a wealth of information on the legal systems of all EU Member States.
The Law Societies Joint Brussels Office regularly publishes the "Brussels Agenda", their free monthly e-newsletter with key EU legislative developments affecting legal practitioners. It is also possible to subscribe to regular updates on Civil litigation; Company law and financial services; Consumer law; Criminal law; Employment law; Environment law; Family law; Intellectual property; Taxation law and the monthly developments from the European Court of Justice. Subscribe by sending an email to: brussels(at)lawsociety.org.uk

The Association of Councils of State - ACA-Europe

The Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) organises an annual colloquium on a specific topic. In June 2010 the general theme was preventing backlog in administrative justice. The report is an inventory of the current procedures in the Member States and reviews the problems that may be encountered when attempting to clear backlogs.

The Association also organises meetings for a small number of participants on more specific topics. In November 2009 the evaluation of judges was the topic of a seminar.

The website of ACA also includes a "Tour of Europe" that gives an overview of the administrative justice in each member State of the Union and a guide to preliminary ruling proceedings before the ECJ with direct links to the relevant case law and a database containing national decisions concerning Community Law from 1959 up to present day.

Relevant EU information

The Stockholm Programme is the next five year programme of the EU in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. It succeeds the Hague Programme. The ENCJ was mentioned in the Hague PRogramme and is has a specific reference in the Stockholm Programme as well as being on of the networks that faciliate contacts between senior officials and therefore should be supported by the EU.

In the preparatory phase of the Stockholm Programme the ENCJ submitted an opinion on the Stockholm Programme to the European Commission with its ideas on how the European Judicial Area could be taken forward.

The Action Plan implementing the Stockholm Programme lists specific actions, plans and a timeframe to reach the goals set out by the Stockholm Programme.

Directory of European networks and bodies relating to justice

The directory attempts to put together the various judicial networks and bodies relating to justice that operate with the EU and the Council of Europe.

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