A delegation of the UIHJ, composed of Marc Schmitz, President, and Luis Ortega Alcubierre and Jean-Didier Bidié, Vice-Presidents, went to Havana, Cuba, from 8 to 10 June 2022 to participate in the 2nd Legal International Workshop on the enforcement of court decisions.
This workshop, held on 9 June at the SO/ Paséo del Prado hotel, was chaired by Ruben Remigio Ferro, President of the Tribunal Supremo Popular of Cuba, and by Marc Schmitz, under the moderation of Farah M. Saucedo Perez, Vice-President of this high jurisdiction.
Five themes were addressed during the international workshop:
- The Global Code of Digital Enforcement, by Marc Schmitz;
- The Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (Ohada), an example of legal integration in Africa and its cooperation with the UIHJ, by Jean-Didier Bidié;
- The evolution of judicial auctions in Spain, by Luis Ortega Alcubierre;
- The enforcement of judicial sentences in the light of the administrative law procedure: the right to enforcement of the citizen and the duty of enforcement of the administration, by Yomays Olivares Gainza, Judge at the Tribunal Supremo Popular of Cuba;
- Criminal enforcement in the Cuban procedural reform, by Yojanier Sierra Infante, President of the Popular Provincial Court of Havana;
In his opening remarks to the international workshop, the president of the Tribunal Supremo Popular of Cuba indicated that it was being held at an important moment in the life of Cuba. Indeed, the country is currently in the process of implementing the new procedural laws recently published. “Our objective is to ensure an effective rule of law in Cuba,” indicated Ruben Remigio Ferro. In this process, he added that he had taken advantage of all the contributions, in particular those of the UIHJ, before wishing full success to the work.
Farah M. Saucedo Perez then introduced the panellists before giving them the floor. The five speeches were followed by fruitful exchanges with the audience, made up in particular of senior judges, lawyers and university professors.
These exchanges demonstrated on the one hand all the importance of the enforcement of court decisions and on the other hand the need for a perspective look at the digitisation of justice. The participants also appreciated the initiatives of the UIHJ relating to the consideration by the public authorities of the standards that can regulate digital enforcement.
The honour fell to the president of the UIHJ to conclude the international workshop. Marc Schmitz thanked the president of the Tribunal Supremo Popular of Cuba for his availability and his commitment to strengthen the relations between his institution and the UIHJ. He then thanked all the participants in the international workshop. Then he invited the Tribunal Supremo Popular of Cuba to join the UIHJ-Latin-American Forum of Judicial Officers that the UIHJ created to promote exchanges between enforcement professionals of this part of the world. He finally ensured the availability of the UIHJ to return to Cuba whenever necessary.
The day of 10 June was devoted to the visit of the Popular Provincial Court of Havana. After the welcome address by Yojanier Sierra Infante, the UIHJ delegation watched a film retracing the activities developed by the magistrates of this jurisdiction during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
There followed an exchange between the magistrates and the members of the UIHJ delegation. At the end of the debates, President Schmitz thanked President Sierra Infante and his collaborators for the quality of their welcome. He also congratulated them for all the actions carried out, especially during the pandemic, thus proving that judges are first and foremost citizens.
