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On the occasion of the 13th World Day of the Judicial Officer, the UIHJ organised on 11th June 2020 its first webinar on the theme of: “The Judicial Officer at your side to resolve the Covid-19 crisis”.

 

The Coronavirus is the first global event of the 21st Century with a lasting impact on the entire planet, questioning all our certitudes.

As regards ​​debt recovery and enforcement of court decisions, most states have introduced measures to limit or stop the proceedings, for varying lengths of time. However, the enforcement of court decisions is an essential element of the rule of law, without which the judge’s decision has no value.

The judicial officer is not a blind enforcer. He faces complex situations daily and ensures to maintain the right balance between the rights and interests of everyone, whatever their situation.

In this context, in many States, the profession of judicial officer shows adaptability and creativity to bring the adapted answers to this unprecedented problematic.

This is the reason why the 13th World Day of the Judicial Officer was devoted to the measures proposed by the judicial officers to resolve the crisis of Covid-19, in the form of a Webinar, formula which we thought to be most suited to the current situation, and followed by over 200 participants from over 20 countries.

During the webinar, the position paper of the UIHJ on the Covid-19 crisis was discussed. The pandemic has also influenced reflections on a new paradigm for work organisation and digitalisation. Finally, the UIHJ did present an inventory of the situations as regards enforcement in 24 countries faced with the Covid-19 crisis, opening the way for many comments and questions of the participants.

To fluidify the exchanges, two sessions were organized on 11 June 2020, in French in the morning, and in English in the afternoon. The webinar speakers were:

Marc Schmitz, president of the UIHJ
Mathieu Chardon, 1st vice-president of the UIHJ
Jos Uitdehaag, secretary of the board of the UIHJ
Carlos Calvo, secretary of the Executive Committee of the European Union of judicial officers
Patrick Gielen, judicial officer (Belgium), advisor to the president and member of the Innovation Team of the UIHJ

You can view the entire Webinar just by clicking here: English version or French version