The UIHJ was represented by Patrick Gielen, Secretary of the Board, and Mathieu Chardon, Secretary General. Twice a year, the Council of Europe’s European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) organises a plenary meeting to which all its members are invited, including the permanent observer members as the UIHJ. During these meetings, information is communicated on the ongoing work and projects of the CEPEJ, and decisions are taken.
Participation in CEPEJ plenary meetings also gives the opportunity to meet and discuss with participants from the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, but also representatives of the many international organisations and institutions present, such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD), the European Lawyers (CCBE), the Council of Notariats of the European Union (CNUE), the European Union of Registrars (EUR), the European Association of Judges (AEM-EAJ), the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the European Expertise and Expert Institute (EEEI), the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ), the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), the Advisory Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE), and the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE).
During the meeting of 15 and 16 June 2023, many topics were discussed, including the ongoing work of the various CEPEJ working groups attended by the UIHJ:
- Working group on Evaluation (CEPEJ-GT-EVAL) which currently prepares the evaluation report of judicial systems 2024 (2022 data).
- Working groups on the Quality of Justice (CEPEJ-GT-QUAL) and on Cyberjustice (CEPEJ-GT-CYBERJUST) which work jointly on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cyberjustice.
- CEPEJ-GT-QUAL which notably addressed the monitoring of the CEPEJ’s Charter on artificial intelligence, its checklist, and the guidelines to ensure the implementation of the 5 principles of this charter.
- CEPEJ-GT-CYBERJUST, and its work on judicial electronic auctions, the draft guidelines on judicial electronic auctions, adopted during the meeting, and the comparative study on electronic judicial auctions.
- Working group on judicial time management (CEPEJ-SATURN).
Francesco Depasquale, President of the CEPEJ, presented the work in progress of the CEPEJ Ad hoc group on backlogs (CEPEJ-GT-Backlogs), a draft backlog reduction tool to combat and a draft concept note on the backlog reduction methodology. The cooperation activities of the CEPEJ were also mentioned, as well as the development of online training modules concerning the CEPEJ tools, the 2023 edition of the CEPEJ “Crystal Balance” prize, a competition aimed at discovering and highlighting innovative and effective practices concerning the functioning of justice, judicial procedures, or the organisation of courts.
Finally, the activity report of the CEPEJ 2022 was adopted, and the program of activities of the CEPEJ 2024-2025 was discussed, as well as the relations between the CEPEJ and other international bodies.
For its part, the UIHJ gave the CEPEJ a few copies of the book “European Case Law on Enforcement and Service of Documents“, which it published in May 2023 and was written by Natalie Fricero and Guillaume Payan , law professors and members of the Scientific Council of the UIHJ.
