On 20th November 2018 the President of the ENCJ, Mr Kees Sterk, was invited to address the LIBE committee of the European Parliament in a public hearing on the Rule of Law in Poland. The hearing had a specific focus on the Independence of the Judiciary. Other speakers included Mr Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the European Commission, a representative of the Venice Commission, the Polish Ombudsman and several academics.

Under Italy's Constitution the CSM is the self-government body of the judiciary; it is competent for recruitment, allocation, transfer, promotion, and disciplinary measures in respect of magistrates.

The CSM includes 3 ex officio members - namely, the President of the Republic, who also chairs the CSM, the President of the Court of Cassation, and the Prosecutor General at the Court of Cassation.

As reported earlier an ENCJ delegation travelled to Hungary in July for a courtesy visit to the Hungarian National Council for the Judiciary. Meetings were held with the members of the Council and with the Minister of Justice, who explained that he had been tasked with two important issues: the assessment of the administration of the judiciary and setting up the new administrative court system. 

The ELI-ENCJ statement on The Relationship between Formal and Informal Justice: the Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution was adopted by the ELI Council on 8 February 2018 and by the ENCJ General Assembly on 1 June 2018. 

On 17th September 2018, the ENCJ General Assembly gathered in Bucharest to discuss the position of the Polish National Judicial Council, the KRS, in the ENCJ.  

On 16 th August 2018 the ENCJ Board informed the Polish KRS that it would convene an Extraordinary General Assembly on 17 September 2018 in Bucharest, to decide on the position of the KRS in the ENCJ.

On 9 and 10 July an ENCJ delegation travelled to Hungary for a courtesy visit to the Hungarian National Council for the Judiciary. Meetings were held with the members of the Council and Kees Sterk, the President of the ENCJ, gave an address on topics such as self-governance and the role of Councils for the Judiciary. 

On 

Statement by the Executive Board of the ENCJ on the situation in Poland

The Executive Board of the ENCJ offers its wholehearted support for the judges in Poland in these difficult times.

On 21st June an ENCJ delegation consisting of the President Kees Sterk, Executive Board members Nerijus Meilutis and Luca Forteleoni and the director of the ENCJ Office, Monique van der Goes, visited Warsaw for a meeting with the Polish National Judicial Council, the KRS.