On Thursday 8 July, the European Commission published its 2021 EU Justice Scoreboard, which this year focuses on the digitalisation of European judicial systems, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Justice Scoreboard is not a beauty contest among the national judicial systems. Rather it contains objective, comparative data on the independence, quality and efficiency of the justice systems to help Member States implement relevant and good reforms”, said the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, at a press conference.
The 2021 Scoreboard contains several new features, including a new section dedicated to the digitalisation of judicial systems. “The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that ensuring the digitalisation of justice is crucial for the resilience of efficient judicial systems” Mr Reynders said.
The Scoreboard shows that in almost all judicial systems, video-conferencing facilities have been used and that in the vast majority of Member States staff are able to work remotely in a secure manner. As for digital solutions, such as artificial intelligence or block-chain based tools, most Member States are already using them, although to very different degrees.
However, the Scoreboard notes that there is still significant room for improvement, especially in criminal cases, where defendants and victims often have limited possibilities to monitor or partially conduct their cases through digital solutions. In some Member States, this possibility does not even exist.
In addition, online access to court decisions has not improved compared to previous years, especially with regard to the publication of supreme court decisions.
Independence of the judiciary
The publication of the Scoreboard also comes at a time when there have been several abuses of the Rule of law in the EU. And as regards the independence of the judiciary, the situation remains “mixed”, according to the Commission.
The perception of the independence of the judiciary by business and the general public has improved or remained stable in the majority of Member States. However, “in a few Member States which have experienced sometimes negative developments in the independence of the judiciary, or in which attacks on judges or prosecutors have intensified, perceived independence has been diminished”, Mr Reynders stressed.
Compared to 2020, the new edition of the Scoreboard also goes further in examining the functioning of criminal justice systems and provides data on the independence of national supreme court judges, the autonomy of public prosecutors and the independence of lawyers and bar associations.
Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
This year, the Commission also presents information on how national supreme courts have adapted their procedures to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. These show, for example, that a majority of Member States have introduced changes in procedural law to facilitate the judicial functions of the courts.
“It is of course too early for the Justice Scoreboard to reflect on the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on national courts”, the Commissioner said. The indicators of an effective justice system only cover the period up to 2019.
The Commission also underlines that the Scoreboard is a key component of the EU Rule of Law Toolbox, together with the Annual Rule of Law Report, the second edition of which is soon to be published.
It will also be used to monitor progress in the implementation of national recovery plans. “The Commission has assessed a large number of national recovery and resilience plans which include, in a number of Member States, reforms and investments in the field of Justice”, the Commissioner recalled.
See the Scoreboard: https://bit.ly/2Uxs5EO (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)