Promoting the Rule of Law and Judicial Independence

ongoing

The ENCJ is planning to work towards three main objectives: 1.The protection and promotion of the Rule of Law by providing support for the independence, accountability and quality of the judiciaries in Europe and promoting understanding of and respect for judicial independence. To uphold and preserve the Rule of Law is a responsibility for both the judiciary and other state powers. Access to fair, independent and impartial courts as the key institutions of an independent judiciary is a fundamental right also laid down in article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 2.To strengthen mutual trust among the judiciaries of Europe. Interaction between the judiciaries in Europe is key to discover differences, but more importantly to discover which values are shared and which practices can be commonly implemented to enhance trust in the administration of justice in Europe. Exposure to other judicial systems and interacting with foreign judges not only leads to a better insight into the foreign system but also to a reflection on ones’ own system and ones’ own performance. As such, it gives an impulse to the improvement of the functioning of the judiciary. Getting to know each other on a systematic base and with clear goals and learning from each other will lead to an approximation of the judiciary systems of the EU, an increased level of the quality of justice (for the benefit of all) across the EU and the step-by-step development of a European Judicial Culture. 3.To promote effective access to justice in a digital age. The COVID-19 crisis has considerably impacted the functioning of the judiciaries and has accelerated developments in digitising the judicial system. The judiciary is not always sufficiently involved in these developments. A lack of resources and expertise can hamper the full involvement of the judicial councils. The opportunity to improve access to justice through digitisation needs to be embraced, but nececessary guarantees need to be in place.