EC Adopts Communication On Judicial Training

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

03 July 2006

The European Commission on Thursday adopted a Communication on judicial training in the European Union.

In a statement, it explained that:

"For years the Commission has supported the training of judges, prosecutors and lawyers through various funding programmes. However, recent developments in the European Judicial Area (introduction of the European arrest warrant, development of family law and civil law in general at European level) make it necessary for practitioners to continually update their knowledge of this constantly changing area."

"In addition, owing to the principle of mutual recognition, judicial decisions will circulate in Europe: a judgment handed down today in Helsinki may have to be enforced in Porto or Ljubljana."

The aim of the Communication, according to the EC, is to devote more resources to this type of training at European level, even though responsibility in this area lies primarily with the Member States.

The Hague programme, “Strengthening Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Union”, emphasises the need for mutual trust between the Member States through reinforced training of judicial practitioners in European issues.

Owing to the different legal and judicial traditions in the Member States, there are substantial differences between their existing judicial training arrangements.

The Commission observed that:

"It is not for the EU to interfere in the organisation of national training systems. But strengthening mutual trust entails developing training sufficiently and devoting sufficient resources to it. Judges, lawyers and prosecutors must be able to receive training of an equivalent level and quality in all the Member States."

It went on to explain that this judicial training should focus on three main areas:

• Increasing the familiarity of legal practitioners with the Union’s legal instruments;
• Improving mutual knowledge of the judicial systems of the Member States; and
• Improving language training.

The Commission will also seek to develop a closer partnership with players in the training area at both European and national level, and to support networking by these players, for example by strengthening the existing European Judicial Training Network.

In order to develop this policy it intends to assign more resources to training justice practitioners under the new financial programmes, in particular the "Fundamental rights and justice" programme.

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