On 19 January 2018, the European Union of Judicial Officers presented to the European Commission in Brussels (Belgium) three of the seven Stobra projects: Attachment on Immovable, Service of documents and Transparency of Assets
Since 2012, the UIHJ has worked on the Stobra project (acronym around Stockholm – Brussels – Athens symbolising a North-South European axis) aimed at harmonising the profession of judicial officer and civil enforcement procedures in the European Union. Seven Stobra projects have been created:
- Stobra 1: Attachment of immovable
- Stobra 2: Service of documents
- Stobra 3: Transparency of assets
- Stobra 4: Statement of facts and Evidence
- Stobra 5: Training
- Stobra 6: debt recovery
- Stobra 7: Information and Communication Technologies
The work was placed under the auspices of the European Union of Judicial Officers (UEHJ) since its creation in 2016. The UEHJ informed the European Commission of the finalisation of the Stobra 1, 2 and 3 projects, which invited UEHJ to present them at its headquarters in Brussels.
The UEHJ delegation included:
- Françoise Andrieux, President of the UEHJ
- Janek Pool, Member of the Executive Committee of the UEHJ
- Nicolas Decock, Director of Legal Affairs of the Belgian Chamber of Judicial
- Officers, Head of the Stobra Project 1
- Ton Jongbloed, professor at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands), referent member of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ for the Stobra project 1
- Mathieu Chardon (France), head of the Stobra 2 project
- Natalie Fricero, professor at the University of Nice (France), referent member of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ for the Stobra 2 project
- David Walker (Scotland), Stobra project leader 3
The UEHJ was received by:
- Salla Saastamoinen, Director of Directorate A – Civil and Commercial Justice, Directorate General for Justice and Consumers
- Hrvoje Grubisic, Secretary of the European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters
- Pal-Lajos Sziranyi, Legal Officer, Civil Justice, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
- Florent Herlitz, Florent Herlitz, Policy Assistant, Civil and Commercial Justice, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
The work was presented in the form of written reports to the European Commission. The members of the Stobra projects emphasised the importance and usefulness of identifying common criteria, in the form of good practice, to enable countries and legislators, both in national and Community law, to provide a better public service of justice in the areas concerned.
The representatives of the Commission expressed their keen interest in the presentation of this work. They appreciated the practical and concrete proposals of the UIHJ and thanked the UEHJ for its travel and the submission of reports, pending the presentation of the other four Stobra projects.
