European Network of Councils for the Judiciary General Assembly reviews its work and elects a new president

From 1 to 3 June, the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ)

took place in Athens, reviewing the results of the ENCJ’s work in 2021/2022 and electing a new

ENCJ president – Dalia Vasarienė, a member of the Council for the Judiciary of Lithuania and a judge of the Supreme Court

(Dalia Vasarienė).

The ENCJ’s work was reviewed by several working groups, addressing both the appraisal of judges’ performance

in European member states and various models for surveying court users. Member states were

presented with the results of the survey on the independence of judges in Europe, conducted at the beginning of this year. In total, the survey

was completed by 15,821 judges from 27 member states (including 200 Latvian judges). It was found that, on a 10-point

scale, European judges rate the independence of judges in their country at an average of between 7.0 and 9.8. Nevertheless, in some

cases, inappropriate pressure to influence judicial decisions was reported. For the first time, judges were asked to

assess the independence of their country’s Council for the Judiciary (the results ranged from 2.7 to 9.6). The results indicate that

the establishment of a Council for the Judiciary alone is not sufficient to guarantee the independence of the judicial system as a whole.

The General Assembly also heard from special guests from countries where the administration of justice is facing problems unprecedented

in modern Europe. Oksana Blazhivska, a member of the High Council of Justice of Ukraine, and

Dorota Zabłudowska, a member of the board of the Polish judges’ association IUSTITIA, spoke about the situation in their countries.

In the next term, the ENCJ will continue its work in the Digital Justice Forum and will also work on

developing guidelines for the codes of ethics of Councils for the Judiciary.

This year is particularly noteworthy because, for the first time in the ENCJ’s history, a representative of the Baltic

states has been elected as its president – Dalia Vasarienė, a member of the Council for the Judiciary of Lithuania and a judge of the Supreme Court. The Lithuanian representative will take over the ENCJ presidency from the current president, Filippo Donati (Italy), in

December this year. 

During the General Assembly, the ENCJ Award for Positive Change was also presented. Several member states

competed in the contest. The 2022 Award for Positive Change was presented to an innovative solution from the Netherlands: the creation of five so-called “fire brigades” of judges and assistants, which provide prompt

assistance in the processing of long-pending cases.

The Council for the Judiciary of Latvia was represented in Athens by its chair, Aigars Strupišs, the adviser to the President of the Supreme Court on matters concerning the Council for the Judiciary, Solvita Harbaceviča, and an adviser to the Secretariat of the Council for the Judiciary, Dace Šulmane.

Lana Mauliņa

Adviser on communication matters

Secretariat of the Council for the Judiciary

Email: Lana.Maulina@at.gov.lv

Telephone: 67020711

Mobile: 27846380