On Wednesday 2 December, the European Commission adopted a “toolbox” of binding and non-binding measures to speed up the digitisation of EU judicial systems (see EUROPE 12540/15).
“Our objective is clear : we need a clear strategy to ensure our Justice is also moving forward into the Europe digital decade”, said EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, presenting the new package at a press conference after the Justice Council meeting.
In its Communication, the Commission states that it wants “to make digital the default option in cross-border judicial cooperation”. To this end, it will present a legislative proposal at the end of 2021 which could require Member States to use digital channels by default for cross-border communications and data exchanges between competent national authorities and require Member States to accept electronic communications for cross-border procedures involving citizens and businesses, without however excluding the use of paper.
Other initiatives include the modernisation, in the first quarter of 2021, of the Eurojust Case Management System and the introduction of “hit/no-hit” connections between the case management systems of Eurojust, Europol and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, who will ensure that these bodies are informed of any links between investigations on which they are working.
At the end of 2021, the Commission will also present legislative initiatives on the exchange of digital information on cross-border terrorist cases and on the establishment of a collaborative platform for joint investigation teams.
The Commission also aims to provide by 2024 an EU-wide access point to enable citizens and businesses to apply for a European Small Claims Procedure or a European Order for Payment procedure and to communicate electronically with the competent national authorities.
It should be noted that the Communication acknowledges the benefits and risks associated with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Justice sector. On this subject, the Commission undertakes, from 2021 onwards, to study ways to increase the availability of relevant machine-readable data produced by the judiciary for the purpose of implementing reliable AI-based machine learning solutions.
Member States also have a role to play. In a separate working document, the Commission departments have carried out a mapping of the state of digitisation of judicial systems in the Member States, which reveals wide variations.
“We now call all EU Member States to follow up adequately at their level too so they can speed up the digital transition of their judicial systems at home”, said Didier Reynders.
See the Communication: https://bit.ly/36vCqVu and the working paper
To make e-CODEX the reference standard
The Commission has also presented a proposal for a Regulation to make the e-CODEX computer system (‘e-Justice Communication via Online Data Exchange’) “the reference standard for secure digital communication in cross-border judicial proceedings in all Member States”.
Currently, the e-CODEX system is managed by a consortium of Member States and other organisations and is funded by an EU grant.
The proposal for a Regulation aims to transfer the management, development and maintenance of this system to the European Union Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) from July 2023.
See the proposal for a Regulation: https://bit.ly/33AQhI6
An expanded offer for European judicial training
The Commission also presented the second edition of its EU judicial training strategy, which aims to train 65% of judges and prosecutors, 30% of notaries, 20% of bailiffs and 15% of lawyers each year for continuing education in European law, by 2024.
The new strategy expands the scope of EU training opportunities for legal professionals to include new policy areas such as digitisation and artificial intelligence.
The geographic scope of the strategy has also been broadened, as it is also aimed at the judiciary in the Western Balkans and other EU partner countries, Africa and Latin America.
On the same day, the Commission also launched the first test phase for the European Training Platform, which will bring together in one place all the information on training opportunities and should be fully operational over the course of 2021.
See the new strategy: https://bit.ly/3qmEAi4 (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)