Representatives of the European Parliament and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU reached a provisional political agreement on Wednesday 8 December on the proposal for a regulation to transfer, between July and the end of 2023, the management of the e-CODEX IT system to the headquarters of the EU Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems (eu-LISA) in Tallin (see EUROPE 12614/12).
The e-CODEX system allows different national justice systems to be digitally interconnected in order to carry out cross-border proceedings in civil and criminal matters. Its users (judicial authorities, lawyers, citizens) can electronically send and receive documents, legal forms or evidence in a fast and secure way.
The e-Evidence Digital Exchange System (e-EDES), the exchange of European investigation orders and mutual legal assistance in criminal cases are already based on e-CODEX.
The agreement “will make the e-CODEX system the digital backbone of EU judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters. The e-CODEX regulation will provide sustainable system, ensuring that judicial authorities can easily and quickly communicate in cross-border procedures“, the Slovenian Minister for Justice, Marjan Dikaučič, welcomed in a statement.
During the interinstitutional negotiations, guarantees on the independence of the judiciary were introduced in line with the European Parliament’s initial position (see EUROPE 12749/3). “We have paid special attention to guaranteeing that fundamental rights and data protection rules are respected”, stressed Emil Radev (EPP, Bulgaria), the European Parliament’s co-rapporteur.
Provisions for the governance and management structure of the e-CODEX system within the eu-LISA were also formalised.
Last week, the European Commission presented a new legislative package to speed up the digitisation of Member States’ judicial systems (see EUROPE 12844/12). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)