Online Cross-Border Training Workshop for Judges, Prosecutors, Attorneys and Other Legal Professionals

Overview

According to Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), the Union is founded on a set of values, including the rule of law and respect for human rights. The Union is based “on the fundamental premiss that each Member State shares with all the other Member States, and recognises that they share with it, the values under Article 2 TEU” (ECJ, Opinion 2/13, para 168). In turn, “this premiss implies and justifies the existence of mutual trust between the Member States” (ibid.) which represents the “raison d’être of the European Union and the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice and, in particular, the Common European Asylum System” (ECJ, NS, joined cases C-411/10 and C-493/10, para 83).

In light of the value of the rule of law (Article 2 TEU), and notably the right to effective judicial protection (Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU), the fil rouge of the workshop is the judicial review and its scope of application in the context of EU asylum law. Three topics will be discussed.

First, the workshop addresses the interplay between Dublin cooperation and fundamental rights. In its latest case-law, the ECJ narrowly interpreted the notion of systemic flaws as an exception to Dublin transfers (X v Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid, C-392/22). Moreover, the ECJ upheld its trend of granting Member States a relevant margin of discretion in relation to the exercise of the discretionary clause (Article 17(1) of the Dublin III Regulation) and its possible judicial review (Ministero dell’Interno (Brochure commune – Refoulement indirect), joined cases C‑228/21, C‑254/21, C‑297/21, C‑315/21 and C‑328/21; and AHY, C-359/22).

Second, the workshop discusses the concept of safe country of origin as provided for in the Asylum Procedures Directive. In its recent judgment CV (C-406/22), the ECJ ruled that the designation of a country as a safe country of origin must be judicially reviewed to assess its effective compliance with the requirements requested by EU law for such a designation. That judgment has a significant impact at the national level, particularly in terms of the disapplication of the national act listing the safe countries of origin.

Third, the detention of asylum seekers, notably in the context of border procedures. In its judgment Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (Examen d’office de la rétention) (joined cases C-704/20 and C- 39/21), the ECJ stated that compliance with the conditions governing the lawfulness of the detention of an asylum seeker must be amenable to judicial review. Such a review is even more relevant where national law provides alternatives to detention (i.e. the deposit of a financial guarantee). Even in such a scenario national judges can be called to solve a conflict between national and EU law.

The workshop will discuss these topics by taking into account both the case-law of the ECJ and its implementation at the national level. At the same time, it will pay attention also to the new legislative acts adopted under the new Pact on Migration and Asylum.

The workshop will host a mix of short lectures and Q&A sessions. Two sessions will be dedicated to group work on hypothetical cases: the participants will be divided into small groups, hosted in different online rooms, and will discuss the proposed cases, together with facilitators from the TRIIAL2 team.

Please note that only speeches and lectures will be recorded; Q&A sessions and working groups will not.

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, attorneys and other legal practitioners (including candidate judges, candidate prosecutors, candidate attorneys, and judicial advisers from European Union (EU) countries).

The workshop will host 40 participants.
The participation is free of charge.
Participants will be provided with certificates of participation.

Application

The deadline for the submission of applications is 15th of January 2025.

Submit your application, including the documents mentioned below, to martina.coli@unifi.it (cc: marcella.ferri@unifi.it). Please, mention  in the title of your email TRIIAL2 workshop on “Mutual Trust, Judicial Independence and Judicial Cooperation in Asylum”_Application”.

Italian judges are invited to follow the procedure described here: https://www.scuolamagistratura.it/. For questions, please contact internazionale@scuolamagistratura.it. The following documents shall be attached to the application:

1. CV in English or Italian (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 Mutual Trust, Judicial Independence and Judicial Cooperation in Asylum (please describe how your professional activity correlates to the workshop’s topics and how you could both benefit from and contribute to the workshop in this field).

Selection procedure

The University of Florence will select 40 legal practitioners (the selected participants will be notified by 16th of January 2025). The selection process aims to identify participants who will effectively and actively contribute to the project and its dissemination. Please note that applicants are not required to have participated in similar training programmes before, nor will recent participation in similar training programmes necessarily prevent them from being accepted.

The applications will be assessed 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, attorneys, public prosecutors, state attorneys, candidate judges, candidate prosecutors, candidate attorneys, judicial advisers 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 organizer.

Participants are asked to devote the necessary time to preparing for the workshops by reading the relevant materials in advance. Moreover, the selected candidates are expected to be ready to commit to active participation in the workshop

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 receive access to all TRIIAL 2 learning materials available on the e-learning platform

You will also be able:

• to acquire the knowledge on existing case-law on Dublin cooperation, safe country of origin, detention and border procedures
• to increase your knowledge of EU asylum law
• to understand the different legal pathways in Europe to protect human rights
• to find cases decided by the ECJ or national courts which can help you solve the pending case or supporting your legal arguments
• to understand how to implement the relevant case law of the Court of Justice in your case
• to become part of a network of legal practitioners, activists, and scholars dealing with similar issues that could provide support for future questions.

Contact person and general information

For any information on the workshop or doubts concerning the call for application, please contact: marcella.ferri@unifi.it and martina.coli@unifi.it.

organised by the University of Gdańsk – in Gdańsk and online

Framework

This conference and workshop are 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, judicial trainees, clerks, lawyers working for the NGOS, public prosecutors, attorneys, legal advisers and other legal professionals and policy makers 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.

The group of accepted in person participants will consist of 8 domestic and 7 foreigner
legal professionals.

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 online applications is 12 December 2024.

Submit your application, including the documents mentioned below to Dr Marcin Michalak at Marcin.Michalak@ug.edu.pl

You should mention in the title of your email whether you want to participate in-person or online. You are invited to submit their applications to

For any questions, clarifications etc. please contact Dr Anna Podolska at Anna.Podolska@ug.edu.pl

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 the Conference and Workshop (please describe how your professional activity correlates to the conference’s and workshop’s field of interest and how you could both benefit from and contribute to the Conference and the Workshop)

Selection procedure

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

– Gender and age balanced;
– Geographically balanced;
– Balance in the judicial hierarchy: both higher and lower instance courts shall be represented among selected participants;
– Trainers will have priority in selection (please refer to relevant training responsibilities in your CV);
– Knowledge of and experience with fundamental rights and rule of law issues;
– Good knowledge of English;

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.

Methodology

You will learn through a 2 – day hybrid conference and workshop of lectures and discussion sessions. The workshop part will allow the participants to discuss real legal issues through a case – based analysis and engage in a more direct interactions with fellow participants.

All participants will receive preparatory materials including the thematic booklet on the rule of law, recorded lectures and casenotes with the analysis of the relevant national and supranational jurisprudence.

Objectives of the Conference and the Workshop

After the completion of the training you should be able:

– to better understand and contextualize the main legal issues relating to the European rule of law and its operation throughout the European public space;
– to acquire the knowledge and the ability to assess the pros and cons and modalities of of various European legal strategies to defend the rule of law and to engage the rule of law arguments;
– to understand the threats to the rule of law from outside and from within the judiciary, and your own role in upholding this fundamental EU value;
– to be able to ascertain whether the solution of the pending case requires the involvement of the Court of Justice through the reference for preliminary ruling;
– to become part of a network of legal practitioners, activists, and scholars dealing with similar issues that could provide support for future questions.

Hybrid Cross-Border Training Workshop for Judges, Prosecutors, Attorneys, and other Legal Professionals

Overview

Effective court administration and judicial independence are cornerstones of the rule of law. However, the precise requirements for achieving these values, along with the roles of political branches, courts, and supranational institutions in securing them, remain complex and sometimes ambiguous. This workshop will offer judges, prosecutors, and other legal professionals a platform to engage in in-depth discussions on contemporary issues in judicial governance and the rule of law. The focus will be on three critical areas that are essential for modern courts but have received limited attention: communication strategies of courts and judges, the regulation of judges’ extrajudicial activities, and the digitalization of judicial systems. Confirmed speakers include Marta Cartabia (former President of the Italian Constitutional Court and Minister of Justice), Kateřina Šimáčková (Judge at the European Court of Human Rights), Kees Sterk (senior Dutch judge, former President of the European Judicial Training Network, and former Vice President of the Dutch Judicial Council), Zdeněk Kühn (Judge at the Czech Constitutional Court and Professor of Legal Theory), and David Kosař (Professor of Constitutional Law specialising in judicial governance).

Regarding communication, the workshop will explore how courts and judges should interact with the public today, particularly whether they should rely on channels beyond the traditional approach of “speaking through their judgments,” and, if so, which ones. Should courts or judges consider using social media platforms like Twitter? If so, in what way?

On the topic of extrajudicial activities, discussions will address whether the benefits of judges being simultaneously or previously involved in politics, academia, or business outweigh the risks associated with holding multiple roles. The workshop will also examine the advantages and disadvantages of former political officeholders becoming judges and vice versa.

Finally, the segment on digitalization will cover the main challenges courts face in modernizing their systems and the roles of supranational, political, and judicial actors in this process. What are the potential gains and losses from digitalizing judiciaries and their administration?

Each topic will be explored through an analysis of the benefits and challenges of various governance models, drawing insights from case law and the experiences of national and supranational courts. Participants will also engage with the latest academic perspectives on the role of judicial governance bodies, such as court presidents and judicial councils, in court administration.

The workshop will feature contributions from both academic experts and legal practitioners across Europe, facilitating an exchange of perspectives.

This workshop is part of the European Commission’s funded project TRIIAL 2 – TRust, Independence, Impartiality, and Accountability of Legal Professionals under the EU Charter – part 2 (project no. 101089737, JUST-2022-JTRA). The TRIIAL 2 project offers training and tools for judges, attorneys, and prosecutors on European rule of law, mutual trust, judicial independence, impartiality, and accountability. Further details can be found on the dedicated project website.

Target Group

This workshop is designed for judges, public prosecutors, and attorneys from EU countries. Legal professionals, policymakers, and judicial clerks (judges in training) who work on issues related to court administration, judicial governance, or any of the mentioned topics are also welcome to apply. The training will be conducted in English.

The workshop will host 40 participants, with 15 attending in person and 25 joining online. Participation is free of charge. For in-person participants, the organizer will cover travel, accommodation, and meals at the venue. Certificates of participation will be provided.

Application and Selection Process

Applications should be submitted to ondrej.kadlec@law.muni.cz, specifying in the subject line whether you wish to attend in person or online. The deadline for applications is 15 December 2024.

1. A brief CV in English.
2. A short motivation letter (maximum 2 pages) outlining your reasons for applying, detailing how your professional experience aligns with the workshop’s topics, and describing how you would benefit from and contribute to the discussions.

The selection process aims to identify participants who will contribute to disseminating project results. Candidates are expected to have a general understanding of and experience with the workshop’s subject matter. Prior participation in similar training programs is not mandatory, nor will be a disadvantage.

Selected candidates should commit to active participation in the workshop, including preparation by reviewing materials that will be distributed in advance.

Selection Criteria:

1. Gender, age, and geographical balance.
2. Balance across the judicial hierarchy, with representation from both higher and lower courts.
3. Priority for trainers (please indicate relevant training roles in your CV).
4. Knowledge of and experience with fundamental rights and rule of law issues.
5. Proficiency in English.
6. Single participation within the same Training Project (TRIIAL 2): generally, participants may attend only one workshop within the TRIIAL 2 Project.

Applicants will be notified of the selection results by 20 December 2024.

Workshop Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, you will:

• Understand and articulate key legal issues in judicial governance and the rule of law.
• Identify and critically assess relevant EU law and ECHR standards and case law on court administration.
• Recognize internal and external threats to the rule of law through judicial administration and understand your role in upholding this fundamental value.
• Gain insights into various challenges and solutions related to judicial administration from across Europe.
• Join a network of practitioners and scholars dealing with similar issues, facilitating future collaboration.

Learning Methods:

• A two-day hybrid workshop including:
  • Lectures and discussions,
  • Two hypothetical case sessions, where participants address real legal scenarios in small groups,
  • An interactive roundtable discussion.
• Preparatory materials distributed to participants:
  • Thematic booklets on current issues and case law concerning judicial administration
  • Recorded lectures
  • Case notes analyzing relevant national and international jurisprudence

Contact for more Information

For any questions about the workshop or the application process, please contact Ondřej Kadlec at ondrej.kadlec@law.muni.cz

Draft programme