Brussels, 27/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 March, Commissioner Viviane Reding, presented the first cast of the new EU justice system scoreboard. Efficient and independent judicial systems are likely to attract investors and provide them with confidence in the economy of the country in question. That is the reason behind the scoreboard. Scoreboards initially only applied to countries receiving financial assistance, in 2011. They were gradually extended to all member states and incorporated into the European semester. They aim to assess the judicial performances of member states and their contribution to growth and economic environment. The Commission, however, argues that in no case will they be used to promote a single judicial model.
Scoreboards have sometimes had to draw on incomplete figures. They assess, for example, the number of judges, the type of training they receive, the duration of litigation in civil and commercial disputes, as well as the decisions and budgets allocated to the courts and the perception of independence within the different judicial systems.
On this final point, it is in Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom where the feeling that the legal system is independent is most developed. At the bottom of the scoreboard are Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
With open conflict having again broken out between Hungary and the Commission on the state of justice in the country and the amendments to its constitution, the country is in 20th position. Reding also said that, with regard to the scoreboard indicators, Hungary did not do too badly in 2010 (a period when data was available) and even performed quite well. During a press briefing, the Commissioner insisted that “we can, therefore, ask why all these reforms were made” which have led to the opening of many different proceedings against Hungary.
The Commission also observes that among the conclusions, the length of time legal procedures last varies considerably from one member state to the next. In a third of all member states, procedures are at least twice as long as in the majority of the others.
Luxembourg has the highest rate for settling commercial and civil disputes. It is also in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg that the budget granted to the courts is highest (per capita), followed by Germany and Spain.
Slovenia leads the way in terms of number of judges per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg.
The scoreboard will inform the country by country studies that will shortly be conducted as part of the European semester and which could lead to the Commission's adopting country-specific recommendations in May. In 2012, Italy, and five other countries, including Bulgaria and Slovenia, found itself subject to recommendations. It was called on to modernise its civil and commercial justice system and to speed up decisions to boost its growth and competitiveness. (SP/transl.fl)