What and who
In view of the great success of the first edition which took place in May 2022, the second edition of the judges@europe forum continues building upon the Council Conclusions “Boosting Training of Justice Professionals” of 8 March 2021. The European Commission entrusts EJTN with organising a forum fostering dialogue among judges, facilitating exchanges between them on topics relating to the rule of law as well as the integrity, accountability and independence of the judiciary.
This edition will focus on good administration of justice from three different angles, all of which relate to the rule of law: accountability through disciplinary and liability regimes; accountability through performance and performance control; and accountability through transparency. Participants in the forum will be able to bring cases from their own experience and discuss them in a safe and protected space under the Chatham House Rule.
Admission is open to all judges in the EU. The application can be accessed directly through this website. Three judges per EU member state will be drawn by lot to participate.
When, where and how
The forum will take place at the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Via Logoteta 27, Syracuse, Italy, from 25 October, 9:00 CEST – 27 October, 18:30 CET.
The forum sessions will include:
- Keynote speeches / expert speeches in plenary sessions: High-level keynote speakers from the European Court of Human Rights (including the ECtHR President, Síofra O’Leary), European Court of Justice, President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), President of the Consultative Council of European judges (CCJE) and the European Network of Justice Inspection Services(RESIJ).
- Group workshops:
- Brainstorming and discussion with peer consultation: judges will be asked to reflect in working sessions on topics such as the balance to be struck between disciplinary and liability regimes for judges and prosecutors with protection of judicial independence, the role of heads of courts and chief prosecutors in boosting judicial efficiency in the digital era, the pros and cons of using AI in the handling of cases, or the extent to which the value of transparency must apply to judicial functions as an instrument to reinforce legitimacy of the judicial systems;
- Participating judges will be invited to work on real or fictitious cases related to those issues, and also on more general questions which relate to them and are relevant in current judicial practices or may become topical in the short or medium term; they will be invited to nourish the debates with cases or experiences from their daily practice and to exchange with colleagues on common challenges and best practice solutions to address them;
- Overall objective: allowing constructive and open dialogue among participating judges, sharing know-how and best practices and developing a collective reflection on contemporary issues essential to the strengthening of a common European judicial culture.
- Plenary sessions summarizing the ‘outcome’ of the group workshops and allowing open discussions among participants and experts;
- “Maverick” session: to be determined.
The agenda will be communicated to the selected participants at a later stage.
A cooperative initiative
This event is organized by the EJTN members of the Bulgarian National Institute of Justice (NIJ), French National School for the Judiciary (ENM), Italian School for the Judiciary (SSM), Portuguese Centre For Judicial Studies (CEJ) and the Spanish Judicial School (Escuela Judicial), in cooperation with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ), and Magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés (MEDEL). We are honoured to welcome distinguished guests and speakers from these institutions and networks.
Practical information and registration
Travel and accommodation will be financed (with the exception of participants from Denmark).
Applicants can enrol until 21 June at 23:59. Three judges per EU country will be drawn by lot but pre-grouped to ensure a balanced audience in terms of gender, age, and work experience.
The languages of the forum are English and French. All sessions will have interpretation in both languages.
All selected participants will be asked to orally present authentic, real-life cases from their judicial work and agree to abide by the Chatham House Rule to ensure honest and open dialogue during the forum.