SUMMARY REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD BY

THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JUDGES - REGIONAL GROUP OF THE IAJ

Turku (Finland) – 23rd and 24th May 2008

 

SESSION OF 23RD MAY

 

         The meeting was chaired by Mr. Virgilijus Valancius, Vice President of the IAJ and President of the European Association of Judges–Regional Group of the IAJ. In attendance were the IAJ President Maja Tratnik, the Honorary Presidents Mr. Sidnei Beneti, Mr. Ernst Markel and Mr. Günter Woratsch, First Vice President Mr. José Maria Bento Company, Vice President Mr. Bjorn Solbakken, the Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Mura, Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Giacomo Oberto, as well as the following delegates, representing their respective associations, which are members of the International Association of Judges and of the European Association of Judges:

 

Armenia                  Mr. Petrosyan and Mr. Tamrazyan

Austria                    Mr. Reissner

Belgium                  Mr. Denecker, Mrs. Lèbe Dessard and Mr. van Iseghem

Croatia                                            Mr. Sessa

Cyprus                   Mr. Stavrou

Czech Republic      Mr. Vyklicky

Denmark                 Mr. Lougart and Mr. Siöbert

Estonia                   Mr. Meelis

Finland                   Mr. Katajamäki, Mr. Vasama, Mrs. Porkkala-Hietala

France                    Mrs. Vandier, Mr. Régnard, and Mr. Thouzellier

Georgia                  Mr. Tordia

Germany                 Mr. Jünemann

Hungary                  Mrs. Halasz

Iceland                   Mr. Isberg

Ireland                                             Mr. Hogan, Mr. Lucey and Mr. Carney

Israel                      Mrs. Cohen

Italy                        Mr. Zuccarelli

Latvia                                              Mr. Bickovics

Liechtenstein           Mr. Hagen

Lithuania                 Mr. Milius

Luxembourg           Mr. Santer

Netherlands             Mr. Steenbeek

Norway                  Mr. Engstad

Poland                                            Mrs. Marszalkowska

Portugal                  Mr. Coelho and Mr. Matos

Romania                 Mr. Costiniu

Slovenia                  Mrs. Roblek

Spain                                              Mr. Soler Pascual

Sweden                  Mr. Adelswärd

Switzerland             Mr. Stadelman and Mr. Gass

Ukraine                   Mr. Kasyan

United Kingdom      Mr. Aikens

 

         The President of the EAJ, Mr. Virgilijus Valancius, opened the meeting at 10.00 a.m. by welcoming delegates from all member associations and thanking the Finnish Association of Judges, its President and Mr. Katajamäki, as well as the President of the local Court of Appeal, for the organization of this meeting and their hospitality. He then thanked IAJ President Maja Tratnik, First Vice President Mr. José Maria Bento Company, Vice President Mr. Bjorn Solbakken, Honorary Presidents Mr. Sidnei Beneti, Mr. Ernst Markel and Mr. Günter Woratsch, the Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Mura, Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Giacomo Oberto and the Assistant to the Secretariat-General Ms. Scolart for attending the meeting. He then asked all delegates to kindly provide the Secretariat-General with the requested update of contact details of associations and delegates.

 

1. Approval of the minutes of the EAJ meeting in Trondheim, 23rd September and 27th September 2007.  

         President Valancius pointed out that the minutes of the EAJ meeting in Trondheim had been sent by the Secretariat General to all member associations. In a month after delivery of the minutes, no remarks had been sent by the associations. Mr. Valancius therefore established, according to the general decision taken in Vienna, the minutes from the meeting in Trondheim as approved.

 

2. Reports on the activities:

2.1. President of the European Association of Judges

2.1.1. General information on the activities.

2.1.2. E-Newsletter of the EAJ EuroIustitia.

2.1.3. EU Justice Forum.

         President Valancius remarked that he had sent a written report, which had been delivered to all member associations. He added it was not necessary to go through it chapter by chapter. He then mentioned the information provided on the electronic newsmagazine EuroIustitia and evoked the resolutions adopted in Trondheim, which had been sent to member associations and local authorities, as well as to European organizations. After the adoption of such documents he had received many reactions. Situation in member countries will be illustrated further on, when the specific point on the agenda will be addressed. Many activities had been deployed in connection with our observer status before CEPEJ and CCEJ.

         President Valancius underlined that, as all 27 EU countries are represented within our organization, we should be more active vis-à-vis EU institutions. In this context he stressed that on 30th May he would participate in the launching of the EU Justice Forum, as explained in his written report. This event, which will take place in Brussels, will surely mark the starting of a new era of relations between the EU bodies and the European judiciaries. President Valancius pointed out that it will be important for us to be involved in discussions affecting possible future legislations and in initiatives which will be closely connected with our institutional goals. He added this particular initiative was the continuation of talks initiated some years ago; in this framework last October President Valancius had presented the EAJ before the EU Parliament.

         Coming to other activities, Mr. Valancius stressed that, as it used to be earlier, it was still important to keep very tight contacts between EAJ and member associations. Some times this was happening on day-to-day basis.

         He mentioned then the request concerning Turkey, where an intervention from the EAJ was asked for in an urgent way by local association YARSAV. He had therefore decided to intervene, by sending a letter on behalf of EAJ, in order to support the idea of associationism of judges in Turkey even though Turkey is not a member of the IAJ. The issue had been discussed within the Presidency Committee during its last meeting in April; the Committee had discussed about future reactions to similar problems and it had requested that in future the Presidency Committee be previously informed about any action involving a non-member country. After this reaction he had received from Turkey a very positive reply, but the problem remained unsettled.

         President Valancius then mentioned the contact he had with Chemonics International, an international development firm located in Washington, D.C, in two projects: the Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance (BRDG) project in Congo and Technical Assistance for Separation of Powers Program (SPP) in Serbia. Chemonics and the EAJ will leverage our resources to explore collaboration in activities such as judicial training, codes of ethics, judicial comportment and other issues related to the independence, impartiality and role of judges.

         Another initiative was the one announced by a message of the German Association of Judges, forwarded by the Secretariat-General, concerning a possible co-operation with the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany. The request concerned the possibility of the EAJ’s participation as a partner to a project “EU-wide Letter of Rights in Criminal Proceedings: Towards Best Practice”. This project is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany to promote an EU-wide Letter of Rights. As partners are involved the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Justice of Austria, the European Criminal Bar Association and the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University. The goal of the research-project is to explore whether and to what extent suspect are informed in writing about their rights in criminal proceedings in the 27 member states of the EU; how this practice relates to the requirements of a fair trial and more specific the right to information in art. 6 par. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights; whether it is possible to develop a model Letter of Rights to be applicable throughout the EU. In a message of 7 May the President asked all associations to consider this offer and inform him about their opinion before 12th May 2008. In the meantime he had received some positive reactions to this initiative.

         President Valancius then added that, since the last meeting of the Group, he had been invited to participate in several events. He mentioned in particular the meeting organised by the Romanian Association to mark its 15th anniversary, where he could take the floor to illustrate the history and aims of the EAJ. After this he had taken part as well in the meeting of the African Group organised in Casablanca (Morocco) on 26-31 March 2008.

         Mr. Valancius mentioned the interview he gave a Danish journalist on a topic on which the Danish delegate would later report. As for the electronic newsmagazine the President asked all association to contribute by sending reports and information on conferences, seminars and as well as on good practices.

 

2.2. Working Group on the problems of the EAJ’s member associations.

         Vice-President Solbakken took the floor thanking members of his working group for the cooperation given. He added he could not reach all of the members of it. President Valancius thanked Vice-President Solbakken and added this issue would be addressed by the assembly later on.

 

2.3. Working Party on the composition of the Presidency Committee of the EAJ.

         British delegate Mr. Aikens took the floor thanking the other two members of the working party as well as Mrs. Lèbe Dessard, who had provided a French translation of the final document drafted by the working group. President Valancius thanked Mr. Aikens and added that this issue would be debated later on.

 

3. Situation of member associations to the EAJ.

3.1. Situation in Slovenia (Slovenian delegate).

         The delegate of Slovenia Mrs. Roblek took the floor to illustrate the situation in her Country. She pointed out that the issue had already been debated in Vilnius and in Valencia. She added that the Slovenian Constitutional Court had declared unconstitutional the system of salary approved by the local Parliament, mentioning as well international documents and declarations on judicial independence. After the decision of the Constitutional Court negotiations with the Government had been resumed and continued for about half a year. Finally the Parliament had approved a new amendment without taking into any account the decision of the Constitutional Court, nor the proposals by Slovenian Association. Therefore Mrs. Roblek concluded asking for support and for the approval of a draft resolution on this issue.

         At this point President Tratnik took the floor to explain the history of this issue and the actions which had already been undertaken in the past. She spoke as well of the 3 day strike the Slovenian Association had decided to launch against the proposed amendments. This initiative had gathered the support of 80% of Slovenian judges.

         After a discussion, during which the President of the working group on the situation of member associations Vice-President Solbakken took the floor, the assembly decided to approve the proposal of President Valancius to set up a small working group, charged to review the draft resolution already prepared on this issue and to propose a final text to be submitted to the general assembly for approval. The President proposed as well to discuss the situation in Poland and to act in the same way, appointing a working group, which could be the same for both countries, as problems were similar. Vice-President Solbakken added he did not exclude, as a second step, the possibility to make a visit to Slovenia. Delegates from Austria (Mr. Reissner), from Croatia (Mr. Sessa) and from Italy (Mr. Zuccarelli) stressed the need to underline that non compliance by the Parliament of a decision of the Constitutional Court brought about a serious violation of the principle of separation of powers.

 

3.3. Situation in other member states.

Poland.

         The Polish delegate Mrs. Marszalkowska distributed a draft resolution to all delegates. She then took the floor to illustrate it, asking for the support of the EAJ. She thanked as well the EAJ for the support already provided in the past and for the resolution approved in Trondheim. She pointed out that in October 2007 the Constitutional Court had declared unconstitutional some law amendments, and this also thanks to initiative adopted by the EAJ. Now support was needed for the problem of judicial remuneration. After Mrs. Marszalkowska’s presentation the President of the IAJ Maja Tratnik asked the Polish delegate to persuade Polish colleagues not to send any more e-mail messages to the address of the Secretariat-General in Rome, as it had in these last days received more than 900 messages. Mrs. Marszalkowska apologized for this inconvenient, explaining that a group of radical judges had taken this kind of initiative.

         After a discussion, the assembly decided to approve the proposal of the President to form just one working group charged of drafting both resolutions on Slovenia and on Poland and to submit them to the vote of the Assembly.

         According to the President’s proposal the group was presided over by Vice-President Solbakken and composed of Mr. Reissner, Mr. Gass, Mrs. Roblek, Mrs. Marszalkowska, Mr. Hogan, Mrs. Vandier and Mr. Zuccarelli.

 

3.2. Situation in France (French delegate).

         The President of the French Association Mr. Thouzeiller took the floor to explain the contents of the draft resolution concerning the situation in his country. The draft resolution was as well distributed to all participants in the meeting. He added the situation needed urgent action, as the Parliament was due to approve a constitutional reform aiming at reducing the ratio of judicial members within the Superior Council of the Judiciary, in violation of all relevant international and European documents.

         After a discussion the assembly decided to charge Mr. Aikens to improve the English version of the draft resolution to be submitted to the plenary for approval.

 

3.3. Situation in other member states.

Denmark.

         The President gave the floor to the Danish delegate, Mr. Lougard, who informed the assembly about an issue which had recently been debated in his country, on whether a judge could wear during hearings religious or political signs, like e.g. Muslim scarves. In the context of this debate the President of the Supreme Court  had released some statements, saying he was not contrary to the fact that a judge could show religious or political signs, while performing his/her duties, and the Ministry of justice had subsequently announced a bill on this topic. Also the issue of compulsory wearing gowns during hearings was debated in Denmark. The local Association had taken a stand underlying the need for judges not only to be but also to appear impartial and to restate that the decision on whether to wear gowns during hearing should be left to judges to be decided.

         President Valancius thanked the Danish delegate for this information, underlying that such problems could rise also in other countries. On this issue he had been interviewed by a Danish journalist.

 

Hungary.

         The President gave then the floor to the new representative of Hungarian association, Mrs. Halasz, who read a letter explaining the last developments in the situation of her country. She added this document was presented just to inform the assembly, but no further intervention was needed at least for the moment. Honorary President Woratsch took as well the floor to add that the situation had not improved, but for the moment the best solution was to wait for further possible developments.

         President Valancius then suggested to Hungarian colleagues to contact Latvian Association, which had managed to reach good results in the field of pensions. He underlined as well the important role played in Europe by Constitutional Courts, despite the fact that local legislators tend not to heed Constitutional Courts decisions.

 

Sweden.

         Mr. Adelswärd took the floor to illustrate the situation in Sweden. Making reference to the resolution adopted last year, he added that the situation had not changed and that only some newspapers had treated the issue. The Swedish association is hoping the situation will improve and will provide the assembly with further information.

 

Ukraine.

         President Valancius informed the assembly that the President of Ukrainian Association had expressed his thanks for the resolution adopted by the EAJ. So far no reaction could be registered, but a debate has started in Ukraine over issues treated by the document.

 

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

         Answering a question raised by Austrian delegate, the President informed the Assembly about the current situation in Macedonia. He added that our colleague Mrs. Tsa Tsa Nikolowska had not been yet reinstated in her post as judge in Macedonia, after she had terminated her charge as Judge of the European Court of Human Rights. Mr. Valancius had evoked the issue also during the plenary meeting of CEPEJ in Strasbourg. Additional information on this issue was in his written report.

 

Romania.

         As for Romania, the Romanian Delegate Mr. Costiniu thanked the EAJ for the important support provided, but as 2008 and 2009 are electoral years, he explained they need still some more time for the situation to become clearer. Local political authorities had ensured that substantial improvements will be brought in legislation. 

 

         The Italian delegate Mr. Zuccarelli took the floor to explain he felt uncomfortable about the fact that in some cases, after a resolution had been approved by the assembly, the concerned associations declared they did not need any further action even though the problem had not been solved. Upon request from the Austrian delegate Mr. Zuccarelli explained he referred in particular to the case of Hungary. The delegate from Sweden Mr. Adelswärd said it was crucial to provide a feedback and follow up for our resolutions. However, it may happen that the situation in a certain country changes and therefore the use of the approved declaration can be no longer needed. Mr. Costiniu underlined the Romanian Government had assured that the problems raised by the declaration concerning his country would be soon solved. Therefore he thought that no further action was needed, at least for the moment.

         Honorary President Markel took the floor to explain how the working group he had been presiding some years ago had addressed this issue. They had proposed a gradual application of possible actions, starting from the transmission of the resolution to local authorities and only in a second time addressing media and international institutions and offices, such as, for instance, the office of Mr. Despouy. Of course there could be some urgent cases, in which all possible actions had to be deployed at the same time. This could be, for instance, the case of Slovenia.

         President Valancius remarked that the reaction would depend on the single case and that each case was different from previous, while Mr. Aikens underlined that when local Legislators are not compliant with decisions of a Constitutional Court, this means that a basic rule of the state of law, which is based on the separation of powers, is violated and therefore this behaviour should be brought to the attention of European Authorities.

 

5. Budget information.

         See enclosure No. 4.             

         Deputy Secretary General Mr. Oberto took the floor to explain the contents of the document on budget, which is joined to this report as an enclosure.

         President Valancius informed the assembly that he had contacted the Maltese Association in order to convince them to pay their arrears. He then mentioned the names of the countries which had not yet paid their fees for the current year 2008. The delegate of Ukraine took the floor to inform that they had just paid their fees for 2008.

 

6. Future meetings.

         President Valancius gave the floor to Mrs. Marszalkowska, who informed the assembly that the Polish Association was delivering all national associations the invitations for next year’s meeting, which will take place in Cracow on 14-17 May 2009.

         The President and the assembly warmly thanked the Polish delegation for this invitation.

         The President then asked the Armenian delegation about the state of preparations for the IAJ meeting in Yerevan. The Armenian delegates informed the assembly that the preparations were going on normally, without any problem. They recommended to comply with the deadlines for sending application forms. President Tratnik took the floor to emphasize a request she had already made, which is to say to arrange visa at the moment of the arrival at the Yerevan airport for all delegations and not only for delegates from EU countries. Armenian delegates ensured they will as soon as possible provide the General Secretariat with information on this issue. In particular they will send a double list, one for the countries which do not need visa and the other one for the countries whose citizens need to previously arrange a visa in one of the Armenian consulates.

         At this point the President called for a vote on the resolution concerning the situation in France, underlying that the French version had remained unchanged and only the form of the English text had been revised by Mr. Aikens. A long discussion took place on the English translation of the French expression “indépendance de la justice.” According to a first proposal, it should have been translated as “independence of justice” and according to another viewpoint, as “independence of the judiciary.” The President called for a vote. 17 votes out of 30 were in favour of the expression “independence of justice.”

         After this the President called for a vote on the merits of the proposal and the resolution was unanimously adopted. It is joined as an enclosure to this report (see enclosure No. 1).

         President Valancius asked the French delegation to send addresses and contact details of French authorities to whom the resolutions should be addressed. The President of the French association Mr. Thouzellier took the floor to thank the EAJ for the unanimous approval of the resolution.

 

4. Discussion on the structure of the EAJ.

         Mr. Aikens took the floor to explain how the works had been conducted within the working party coordinated by him. He thanked Mr. Juenemann and Mr. Van Iseghem for their cooperation and Mrs. Lèbe Dessard for providing French translation of the final document. He then illustrated the different proposals sketched in the above mentioned document, which had been sent to all member association. He pointed out that, although the EAJ statutes, approved in the year 2003, provides for the possibility for the President to appoint an executive committee, this had never been done. He added that, according to the opinion of the working party, there was a democratic deficit, both in the election of the President (who is first elected as Vice-President of the IAJ) and in the lack of other elective representatives. He stressed that in these last years the work of the President had remarkably increased and therefore the EAJ President needed some kind of assistance. After this he illustrated in details the three possible “models” suggested in the final document of the working group. He underlined that while model No. 1 and model No. 2 did not require a formal revision of statutes, model No. 3 required to set in motion the procedure for amending EAJ statutes.

         President Valancius thanked Mr. Aikens for the remarkable work done by the working party and for having prospected possible solutions. He underlined that actually the work of the EAJ had grown in the last years, especially in some particular sectors. The first of this sector was the one touched by the working group presided over by Vice-President Solbakken. Other areas in which our work had increased were those of the cooperation with the Council of Europe, as well as with the European Union. As for this latter, the event starting the following week in Brussels could be quite good a platform for us to be more involved in matters of EU organisation. By the way, the EU foresees to hold such four meetings each year. Also the cooperation with ERA was taking more and more time, as it was dealing with the subject of continuous legal education of judges.

         President Valancius then remarked that in his opinion five years of “life” of our statutes was too short a period of time to think to a reshaping of that document. Maybe there would be the possibility to restructure our administration using current statutes in order to cope with the increase of work. Therefore it could be expedient to set up internal structures which could constitute an efficient mean in order to involve as many as possible member associations and all geographical parts of Europe, as well as all possible fields of activity (criminal, civil, administrative law, etc.).

         After these introductory remarks the President proposed to set up an executive committee composed of four members, plus himself. Each of this four members should head a stable working party, charged respectively: (a) to deal with problems of member associations; (b) to deal with relations to the Council of Europe; (c) to deal with relations to the European Union; (d) a fourth and final working group should deal with the structure of the EAJ. Of course ad hoc committees could still be formed by the assembly for occasional and/or urgent issues, but those four stable committees should ensure the continuity of work, especially in the periods of time between EAJ meetings. Each of the four working groups should be composed of five member associations, so to involve a total number of twenty associations.

         Closing his remarks, Mr. Valancius pointed out that his proposal was in the sense of “model” No. 1 of the above mentioned document. He added he had some doubts on the legitimacy of the proposed charge of vice-president (and on the setting up of a presidency committee), as this reform was not envisaged by our current statutes.

         A very long debate followed, during which delegates from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine took the floor, expressing their views on the three proposed alternatives. A particular emphasis was set by Mr. Reissner and by Honorary Presidents Markel and Woratsch on the need not to break ties with the IAJ and therefore not to change provisions of EAJ statutes in a way that make them incompatible with the fact that the EAJ is a Regional Group of the IAJ. They remarked as well that decisions taken by EAJ in this field could as well affect similar decisions within other Regional Groups.

         Mr. Aikens took again the floor explaining his personal view on the document of the working group, expressing the view that sooner or later the EAJ will be obliged to amend its statutes and this process will consume a lot of time. He pointed out that according to existing provisions and procedures a revision of our statutes could not take place before next year’s meeting in Cracow. Meanwhile the President could appoint an executive committee, according to the current version of EAJ’s statutes.

         Mr. Reissner, taking the floor, underlined again the need to have the advice of the rest of the IAJ. He pointed out as well that the process of approval of the current statute of the EAJ had somehow involved the other Regional Groups. Honorary President Markel underlined that the most urgent need was to provide the President with assistance, but in order to solve this problem it was not necessary to appoint vice-presidents.

         President Tratnik took then the floor underlying she could not speak on behalf of the Presidency Committee, which had not taken a stand on that issue. She pointed out that the adoption of current statute had been the result of a long process and of many compromises. The result had been a good text. What was needed was to implement it. She then encouraged the assembly to try and see whether the method of appointing an executive committee could be of help, so implementing the provision of Article 4, Para. 3, of the present statute. She stressed as well that already in 2001 in Madrid the Group had set forth a permanent committee on the situation of member association and the results had been quite positive. The view of the IAJ President was shared as well by First Vice-President Bento Company. The debate continued with interventions of delegates of the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Germany and Italy. Honorary President Woratsch took as well the floor to underline that, in his view, a change in the statute was not necessary.

         At the end of the debate the assembly, upon proposal from the President, decided to postpone the decision to the session of 24th May.

         The session was closed at 6.00 p.m.

 

 

SESSION OF 24TH MAY

 

         The meeting was chaired by Mr. Virgilijus Valancius, Vice President of the IAJ and President of the European Association of Judges – Regional Group of the IAJ. In attendance were the IAJ President Maja Tratnik, the Honorary Presidents Mr. Ernst Markel and Mr. Günter Woratsch, First Vice President Mr. José Maria Bento Company, Vice President Mr. Bjorn Solbakken, the Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Mura, Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Giacomo Oberto, as well as the following delegates, representing their respective associations, which are members of the International Association of Judges and of the European Association of Judges:

 

Armenia                  Mr. Petrosyan and Mr. Tamrazyan

Austria                    Mr. Reissner

Belgium                  Mr. Denecker, Mrs. Lèbe Dessard and Mr. van Iseghem

Croatia                                            Mr. Sessa

Cyprus                   Mr. Stavrou

Czech Republic      Mr. Vyklicky

Denmark                 Mr. Lougart and Mr. Siöbert

Estonia                   Mr. Meelis

Finland                   Mr. Katajamäki, Mr. Vasama, Mrs. Porkkala-Hietala

France                    Mrs. Vandier, Mr. Régnard, and Mr. Thouzellier

Georgia                  Mr. Tordia

Germany                 Mr. Jünemann

Hungary                  Mrs. Halasz

Iceland                   Mr. Isberg

Ireland                                             Mr. Hogan, Mr. Lucey and Mr. Carney

Israel                      Mrs. Cohen

Italy                        Mr. Zuccarelli and Mr. Balsamo

Latvia                                              Mr. Bickovics

Liechtenstein           Mr. Hagen

Lithuania                 Mr. Milius

Luxembourg           Mr. Santer

Netherlands             Mr. Steenbeek

Norway                  Mr. Engstad

Poland                                            Mrs. Marszalkowska

Portugal                  Mr. Coelho and Mr. Matos

Romania                 Mr. Costiniu

Slovenia                  Mrs. Roblek

Spain                                              Mr. Soler Pascual

Switzerland             Mr. Stadelman and Mr. Gass

Ukraine                   Mr. Kasyan

United Kingdom      Mr. Aikens

 

         The President of the EAJ, Mr. Virgilijus Valancius, opened the session at 9.00 a.m. resuming the discussion on the topic of the proposed resolution on Slovenia. Vice-President Solbakken took the floor to thank the members of the ad hoc committee for the work done. The texts of the resolution on Slovenia and the text of the resolution on Poland were distributed to all delegates.

         The resolution on Slovenia was unanimously approved. It is joined as an enclosure to this report (see enclosure No. 2).

         After this the President called for a vote on the resolution on Poland. This resolution was as well unanimously approved by the assembly. It is joined as an enclosure to this report (see enclosure No. 3).

         The President then distributed to all delegations copies of an handwritten document, called “Motions Proposed by the U.K.,” drafted the previous night by Mr. Aikens on the issue of the structures of the EAJ.

         Mr. Aikens took the floor to explain the scope of the proposals of these new motions, saying this was a compromise which would progress the changing of statutes, while solving the most urgent issue, consisting in providing the President with help.

         After a debate the assembly, upon proposal of the President, decided to call for a vote on both points of the new document drafted by Mr. Aikens.

         President Valancius recalled the contents of Art. 4, Para. 3, of our statutes, according to which “The President may appoint judges from member associations to form an executive committee to assist him with his work.” He added he would therefore appoint four people bearing in mind geographical, legal and other representation. On this proposal he would call for a vote. He then explained that two out of these four people should be the other two IAJ European Vice-Presidents. Then he proposed a French speaking delegate from Western Europe, in the person of Mrs. Viviane Lebe Dessard (Belgium), and a delegate from Eastern Europe, in the person of Mr. Duro Sessa (Croatia). He then asked the assembly if they had serious objection on this proposal.

         Mr. Reissner took the floor to underline that in his opinion the two parts of Mr. Aikens’ proposal were not connected each other and proposed to insert a sentence referring to the need to respect IAJ statutes.

         Mr. Zuccarelli said that, in the spirit of enhancing democracy, it would have been advisable first to approve the proposed motions and then ask the assembly if there were proposals on names. He as well objected to the fact that the other two European Vice-Presidents of the IAJ, in the proposal of President Valancius, acted as EAJ vice-presidents.

         President Valancius explained that in his opinion his proposal was a compromise solution and that the members of the executive committee should not be considered as vice-presidents of the EAJ. He then called for a vote on both point of the last document prepared by Mr. Aikens. Mr. Aikens took the floor and put a proposal to compose the executive committee of the EAJ of four persons, i.e. Mrs. Viviane Lèbe Dessard (Belgium), Mr. Duro Sessa (Croatia), Mr. José Maria Bento Company (Spain) and Mr. Bjorn Solbakken (Norway).

         Motion No. 1 of the document proposed by the U.K. was unanimously adopted by the assembly.

         As for Motion No. 2 (letters a, b, c and d), it was approved with a majority of 25 votes on a total of 29 (one vote against and three abstentions) (see enclosure No. 5).

         The appointment of Vice-Presidents Bento Company and Solbakken, of Mrs. Lèbe-Dessard and of Mr. Sessa as members of the executive committee was approved by the assembly by acclamation.

 

7. Miscellaneous.

         President Tratnik pointed out that, as it had been recalled by a letter recently sent by the Secretariat-General, no candidatures had already been submitted for the organization of the IAJ meeting in 2009. She therefore invited associations to propose candidatures for hosting next years’ meetings, pointing out that, as decided by the Central Council in Trondheim, such availability should be declared one month before this year’s meeting, i.e not later than the first days of August.

         The President of the IAJ Maja Tratnik and the President of the EAJ Virgilijus Valancius warmly thanked the Finnish Association of Judges for the perfect organization of the meeting, for the warm reception and for the ideal working conditions.

 

The  meeting was closed at 10.45 a.m.

 

The President of the EAJ

Virgilijus Valancius

 

The Deputy Secretary General of the IAJ

Giacomo Oberto

 

Enclosures:

1. Resolution concerning France

2. Resolution concerning Slovenia

3. Resolution concerning Poland

4. Budget 2007-2008 and expenses from 19 September 2007 to 21 May 2008

5. Motions proposed by the United Kingdom

 

 

RESOLUTION CONCERNING FRANCE

 

European Association of Judges

At its meeting held in TURKU (Finland) on May 23, 2008

has adopted in unanimity the following resolution

 

 

1. The European Association of Judges takes notice of the modifications planned by the French government regarding the composition of the Judges’ High Council (Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature) whereby there would be only a minority of judges on the authority in charge of their career and discipline, but a majority of representatives directly nominated by the executive and legislative powers.

 

2. The European Association of Judges recalls and emphasises that, with regard to the competent authority in the field of the judges’ selection, career and discipline, the European authorities have, for many years, established fundamental rules in order to preserve the independence and the impartiality of justice.

 

3. In this regard, the European Association of Judges refers to :

 

- Recommendation R94-12 of the Council of Europe Ministers’ committee, which requires that the competent authority should be independent from the government and the administration.

- The European Charter on the Statute for Judges enacted by the Council of Europe in 1998, which requires the creation of an authority independent from the executive and legislative powers within which at least half of its members have been elected among the judges by their peers.

- The Consultative Council of European Judges, which, in its opinion n°10 adopted in Strasbourg in October 2007 which requires the creation of an authority within which there is a substantial majority of judges elected by their peers.

 

4. The European Association of Judges also emphasises that these standards have not been enacted for the benefit of judges or their corporate interest, but as the sole means of ensuring the necessary independence of Justice within a democratic society.

 

5. The European Association of Judges expresses its grave concern with regards these developments in France. It appeals to the French government to observe scrupulously the standards universally acknowledged of an independent judiciary, which is essential if citizens are to have full trust and confidence in the judicial system.

 

 

Turku, May 23, 2008

RESOLUTION ON SLOVENIA

 

Resolution

Adopted by the European Association of Judges

on May 24th 2008

 

 

The European Association of Judges at its meeting in Turku, Finland, has been informed again by the Slovenian Association of Judges about the current situation regarding remuneration of judges in Slovenia. The Slovenian Association of Judges is a member of the European Association of Judges.

 

The information given by the Slovenian Association of Judges refers, inter alia, to a decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia from December 2006 declaring the salary reform of judges unconstitutional, which decision is being ignored by Government and Parliament.

 

In addition the European Association of Judges has been made aware:

 

1.     The remuneration of judges is disproportionate to the burden of their responsibility and is insufficiently balanced with the remuneration of members of the two other Powers of the State.

 

2.     The salary reform relating to judges in Slovenia has reduced in effect the remuneration of judges while increasing the salaries for public employees thus creating an unacceptable imbalance.

 

The European Association of Judges emphasizes  the importance of compliance with  the obligations in the following international legal instruments, guaranteeing, inter alia, the financial independence of judges. These international documents and principles among others are:

 

Principle III 1.b of the Recommendation No R  (94) 12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe:  “…judges remuneration should be guaranteed by law” and “commensurate with the dignity of their profession and burden of responsibilities”

 

Point 61 of the Opinion No 1 of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE):

“The CCJE fully approved the European Charter’s statement (in principle 6.1.)”

 

Principle 6.1. of the European Charter on the Status of Judges : “Judges exercising judicial functions in a professional capacity are entitled to remuneration, the level of which is fixed so as to shield them from pressures aimed at influencing their decisions and more generally their behaviour within their jurisdiction, thereby impairing their independence and impartiality.”

 

Article 13 of the Universal Charter of the Judge adopted by the International Association of Judges in 1999: “The judge must receive sufficient remuneration to secure true economic independence. The remuneration must not depend on results of the judges work and must not be reduced during his or her judicial service.”

 

Paragraph 8 of the Judges Charter in Europe (adopted by the European Association of Judges in 1993): “Judicial salaries must be adequate to ensure that the judge has true economic independence and must not be cut at any stage of a judge’s service”.

 

The European Association of Judges is gravely concerned with the non-compliance, by Government and Parliament, of a judgment of the Constitutional Court concerning judges, resulting in the undermining of the role of judges and trespassing upon the principle of separation of Powers.

 

The European Association of Judges requests the Government and Parliament of Slovenia to comply with the decision of its Constitutional Court and its international obligations regarding the remuneration of its judges in the establishment of a system for judges’ salaries that is balanced.

 

The European Association of Judges recognizes that only by the provision of proper remuneration can a credible  separation of powers be obtained.

 

The European Association of Judges is supportive of the endeavours of the Slovenian Judiciary  in this regard.

 

Turku, May 24, 2008

 

RESOLUTION ON POLAND

 

Turku,  24 May, 2008

The European Association of Judges

adopted the following

 

 

RESOLUTION

 

The European Association of Judges has been made aware of certain concerns of the Polish Judges Association. They are:

 

 

a.      the mechanism for the creation of judges’ remuneration and which is set  every year is dependent on the political will of the executive power.

 

b.     the lack of any legal remedy for the judges to challenge the executive power to change the level of the basis of their remuneration.

 

c.     the mechanism for the creation of judges remuneration which is inadequate. It has lead to a decreasing of judges remuneration and a blurring of the separation of powers settled in the art. 10 of the Polish Constitution. 

 

d.     creation by the executive power of  a basis of judges’ remuneration on a level which is inconsistent with art. 178 par. 2 of the Polish Constitution and which weakens every year the value of the judge’s remuneration

 

 

The European Association of Judges is concerned :

 

1.     that the Polish system of remuneration for judges results in a considerable difference between the level of real income of a judge and other national economic indexes.

2.     As a result of this unacceptably large difference, it is the opinion of the European Association of Judges that the fundamental principles set out in such internationally approved documents as a The European Charter on the Statute for Judges, The Universal Charter of Judges, The Judges Charter in Europe and the European Charter.

      are not fulfilled by the Polish government.

 

 

In expressing the above concerns, the EAJ urges the Polish authorities to be vigilant to observe those universally recognised standards of judicial independence. Consequently, the organs of the executive and legislative branches must refrain from adopting any measure which could undermine the independence of judges.

 

The EAJ urges the competent Polish authorities to ensure universally recognised standards of judicial independence are upheld at all times and that no measures are taken which might compromise them.

 

Turku, May 24, 2008

 

EAJ budget per Turku

 

EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JUDGES

Regional Group of the I.A.J.

 

 

BUDGET 2007-2008

and

EXPENSES FROM 19 SEPTEMBER 2007 to 21 MAY 2008

 

(in EURO)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

total

A) Reserves

+ 17,755.04

 

 

B) Contribution from the IAJ for the year 2007-08

+ 3,000.00

 

 

C) Total availability for the year 2007-08   [A+B]

 

 

+ 20,755.04

 

 

 

 

D) Reimbursement of Mr Valancius’s travel expenses to Romania and Casablanca (AFR)

 

- 1233.10

 

 

E) Reimbursement of Mr Valancius’s travel expenses for Meeting CEPEJ

- 575.00

 

 

F) Reimbursement of Mrs Tsatsa Nikolovska travel expenses to Bosnia (as rapporteur)

- 583.71

 

 

G) Reimbursement of Mr Valancius’s travel expenses to Portugal

 

- 598.00

 

 

H) Total expenses  [D+E+F+G]

 

 

- 2,989.81

 

 

 

 

Availability on 22 May 2008  [C-H]

 

 

+ 17,765.23

 

MOTIONS PROPOSED BY THE UNITED KINGDOM

 

(1)  The existing working party (Aikens, Van Iseghem and Jünemann) continue its work of considering possible changes to the Statutes of the EAJ (taking into account the Statutes of the IAJ) with regard to (a) the election of the President of the EAJ; and (b) the election of Vice-Presidents and /or an Executive Committee of the EAJ, by its General Assembly, to report at Yerevan and thereafter.

(2)  The General Assembly invites the President of the EAJ to agree:

(a)  to appoint an Executive Committee of four in accordance with Articles 4.3 and 4.5 of the present Statutes of the EAJ; and

(b) to abide by the choice (by election if necessary) of the General Assembly of the EAJ as to the selection of the four (4) members of the proposed Executive Committee;

(c)  that the General Assembly may chose (by election) these four members of the Executive Committee from among candidates nominated at the meeting  of the General Assembly on 24 May 2008;

(d) that the President and the Executive Committee so chosen/elected should decide on the future administration of the work of the EAJ, including what, if any, Working Groups are ppointed in accordance with article 4 of the Statutes of the EAJ.