Cross-border training event for judges, prosecutors and attorneys, 30–31 October 2023, organized by Centre for Judicial Cooperation (CJC) | European University Institute (EUI), Florence, residential + online mode

Overview

The cross-border workshop will discuss the rights and duties of national judges, attorneys and prosecutors as regards the enforcement of rule of law standards. More and more judges and prosecutors are turning to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) for the protection of judicial independence and rule of law standards. These Courts have developed a robust framework of rule of law standards during the last decade, which impact all aspects of national judges’ activities from institutional issues related to judicial organisation (e.g. composition of judicial councils, judicial liability mechanisms, appointment of judges, and status of justices of peace) to individual aspects related to the exercise of activities outside the judicial function and freedom of expression. Furthermore, in an interconnected European legal order based on the principle of mutual trust, undermining judicial independence in one member state is of outmost relevance for other member states. As is evidenced by the CJEU judgements in C-216/18 LM and C-354/20 Openbaar Ministerie, rule of law developments in other member states impact even the countries where rule of law is most deeply entrenched. As mutual trust cannot be blind trust, national judges are in fact called on to act as guardians of European rule of law by ascertaining whether a person sought under a European arrest warrant will be granted effective judicial protection in the requesting state, and whether an asylum seeker can be transferred to a member state with rule of law issues. Within a context of national constitutional courts diverging from the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and CJEU, domestic judges have been faced with the difficult task of reconciling the constitutional jurisprudence with the evolving CJEU and ECtHR jurisprudence on rule of law.

This cross-border workshop aims to provide legal practitioners with an update of the EU and ECHR standards on rule of law and discuss concrete examples of how judicial dialogue can help judges address conflicts between EU and national constitutional norms on the rule of law, judicial independence, impartiality, accountability and freedom of expression of legal professionals.

Framework: This workshop is offered within the European Commission’s funded project TRIIAL 2 – TRust, Independence, Impartiality and Accountability of Legal professionals under the EU Charter (project no. 101089737, JUST-JTRA-EJTR-AG-2020). The TRIIAL 2 Project provides training activities and tools for judges, attorneys, and prosecutors on the European rule of law, mutual trust, judicial independence, impartiality and accountability (see the dedicated website here).

Target group

Judges, public prosecutors and attorneys from European Union (EU) countries. The training will be in English and opened to those with both basic and experienced knowledge of EU law and ECHR.

The Workshop will host 40 participants, of which 15 will be in person and 25 online.

Participation is free of charge.

For the 15 in-person participants, the travel, accommodation and meals at the venue are covered by the organizer.

Participants will be provided with certificates of participation.

Application

The deadline for the submission of applications is 26^th of May 2023.

Submit your application, including the documents mentioned below, to cjc@eui.eu You should mention in the title of your email whether you want to participate in-person or online.
Italian judges are invited  to submit their applications to:internazionale@scuolamagistratura.it. For questions, please contact Gianluca Grasso at: gianluca.grasso@giustizia.it
Romanian attorneys are invited to submit their applications to: veronica.morecut@unbr.ro. For questions, please contact Prof. Raluca Bercea at: raluca.bercea@e-uvt.ro

The following documents shall be attached to the application:

1. CV in English (including a section on proof of knowledge of English)
2. A short motivation letter (max 2 pages) outlining the candidate’s specific reasons for applying to a Workshop on Enforcing the Rule of Law through Judicial Interaction Techniques (please describe how your professional activity correlates to the workshop’s field of interest and how you could both benefit from and contribute to the Workshop in this field)

For questions regarding the Workshop and the project, contact: cjc@eui.eu

Selection Procedure

The assessment of applications will be based on the following criteria:

1. Gender and age balanced;
2. Geographically balanced;
3. Diversity of legal competences: the call is open to civil, administrative, and criminal judges; in addition, public prosecutors or state attorneys can also apply.
4. Balance in the judicial hierarchy: both higher and lower instance courts shall be represented among selected participants;
5. Trainers will have priority in selection (please refer to relevant training responsibilities in your CV);
6. Knowledge of and experience with fundamental rights and rule of law issues;
7. Good knowledge of English;
8. Single participation within the same Training Project (TRIIAL 2): in principle, no participant can take part in more than one Workshop among those offered within the TRIIAL 2 Project. In exceptional cases, deviations are subject to express and prior permission of the Coordinating Unit (Centre for Judicial Cooperation, EUI)

The Centre for Judicial Cooperation will select 40 legal practitioners. After the exhaustion of the 15 in person places, the remaining ones will be allocated to online participation.

Outcome of the Workshop

• You will receive a certificate of participation;
• You will be able to understand and explain the main legal issues relating to the European rule of law (the training’s “core”);
• You will be able to identify the standard of effective judicial protection under Article 47 EU CFR and the role of the ECHR and the case law of the Strasbourg Court to determine it;
• You will become familiar with the procedural steps through which the existence of a duty to pursue or suspend horizontal judicial cooperation exists;
• You will become familiar with the allocation of the burden of proof in cases concerning the implications of rule of law problems on mutual trust, as well as understand how that burden can be satisfied;
• You will be able to establish whether the solution of the pending case requires the involvement of the Court of Justice through the reference for preliminary ruling;
• You will be able to find cases decided by the Court of Justice or national courts which can help you solving the pending case or supporting your legal arguments;
• You will understand how to implement the relevant case law of the Court of Justice in your case;
• You will acquire the ability to relate the knowledge acquired to the cases you are dealing with in your legal practice;
• You will be able to create and design new arguments to convincingly plead your case where issues concerning mutual trust and the rule of law arise;
• You will become part of a network of legal practitioners and scholars dealing with similar issues that could provide support for future questions.