New President for the CEPEJ at the Council of Europe

European Rechtspfleger as an independent body of jurisdiction

A report, written by Anne Kappl

On 9 and 10 December 2010 the plenary session of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) at the Council of Europe took place under the direction of the President Fausto de Santis. The European Union of Rechtspfleger (EUR) was represented by the President Thomas Kappl, the permanent representative of the E.U.R. at the Council of Europe Jean-Jacques Kuster and colleague Vivien Whyte.

The CEPEJ was set up by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in September 2002. It deals with the proposal of concrete solutions that are useful for Member States in justice, as

• improvement of the existing legal instruments for the organization of justice,
• access for citizens to the courts,
• ensuring the access to the European Court of Human Rights, Article 6 of the Convention of Human Rights.

The CEPEJ is composed of qualified experts from 47 Member States of the Council of Europe, who propose practical work flow in the service the litigants.

During the plenary session the CEPEJ presented the report on European judicial systems in accordance with the above-mentioned order and adopted it. Thomas Kappl agreed in his speech in particular the inclusion of Rechtspfleger as an independent judicial body alongside the judge in the report of the CEPEJ. With a detailed list of duties of the Rechtspfleger, such as in family and guardian matters, in the law of inheritance, land and commercial register, in the national and European payment order procedure and in the enforcement of civil and criminal decisions, the Commission has represented the job description clearly.

This is a very important policy aim of the E.U.R., reached on the way to the introduction of the European Rechtspfleger.

The E.U.R.’s President respected the period of Fausto de Santis, and thanked him for his personal commitment to the work of the E.U.R. For new President of CEPEJ the former Vice President John Stacey was solidly elected. Stacey, the Head of International Development of Court Administration at the English Ministry of Justice, has got a great professional experience.

Thomas Kappl stressed the need to strengthen the judicial systems in Europe by discharging the judges with the transfer of judicial functions to the Rechtspfleger because of the economic and financial crisis. The creation of the European Rechtspfleger is essential.

The European Union of Rechtspfleger is going to ask the Council of Europe to recommend to the Member States to adopt the Rechtspfleger as an independent body of case law alongside the judges.

I wish all members of the E.U.R. and their families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope to meet you all well again in 2011.

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