National Court Administration of Finland joins ENCJ
The Tuomioistuinvirasto / Domstolsverket / National Courts Administration of Finland was established on 1 January 2020 with the purpose of strengthening the independence of the judiciary.Previously most of the tasks of the National Courts Administration were handled by the Ministry of Justice. At the General Assembly of 10 June 2020 the application of the National Court Administrtaion of Finland to become an ENCJ member was unanimously agreed by the Members.
ENCJ report adopted - measuring, improving, dialogue and evaluation
At the ENCJ General Assembly of 10 June 2020 the project team reports were adopted.
The ENCJ report 2019-2020 on the Independence, Accountability and Quality of the Judiciary: Measuring for improvement deals with several issues
In relation to Independence and Accountability the main findings are that
General Assembly elects new President and Board members
During an online meeting on 10 June 2020 the ENCJ General Assembly elected Filippo Donati as the new President (mandate June 2020- June 2022). Filippo Donati is a non-judicial member of the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura of Italy. He is a full professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Florence.
In addition 4 new Board members were elected:
ENCJ Executive Board proposes to expel KRS
On 27 May, the ENCJ Board has adopted a Position Paper on the Membership of the KRS of the ENCJ. In the paper the Board sets out the reasons for its proposal to the
ENCJ contributes to the European Commission Rule of Law report
The European Commission has invited the ENCJ to contribute to the European Commission Rule of Law report. This project is meant to provide an annual assessment of both positive and negative significant developments concerning the Rule of Law in EU Member States. The reference period for the 2020 report is from January 2019.
ENCJ Board sends position paper on proposed expulsion to KRS
On 22 April 2020, the ENCJ Board has sent a draft Position Paper to the KRS of Poland, setting out the proposed expulsion of KRS from the ENCJ.
ENCJ Board asks Polish Council to explain their actions
In a letter dated 21 February the Executive Board of the ENCJ asked the Polish Council for the Judicary (KRS) to clarify their position and actions in relation to recent developments. The Executive Board will decide, taking into account the replies of KRS, whether to propose the expulsion of the KRS to the ENCJ General Assembly.
Judical Networks call for urgent meeting with President Von der Leyen on Rule of LAw crisis in Poland
In a letter dated 21 Feburary 2020, the Presidents of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Courts of the EU and the European Judges Association call for an urgent meeting with President Von der Leyen on the Rule of Law crisis in Poland.
Judicial Networks meet Commissioners Jourova and Reynders
On 30 January 2020, the Presidents of the ENCJ, the network of Presidents of the Supreme Courts of the EU and the European Judges Association met the Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Ms Vera Jourova and the Commisioner for Justice Mr Didier Reynders.
ENCJ Executive Board's statement on the need to defend the independence of judges in Poland
Introduction
In recent years the Executive Board of the ENCJ had expressed repeatedly its serious concerns about developments regarding the independence of the judiciary in Poland. The Executive Board refers to its statements of 30 January 2017, 17 July 2017, 13 October 2017, 5 December 2017, and 17 September 2018. No steps were taken to allay the concerns expressed or to redress the problem identified.
