The Ministers of Justice of the Member States of the European Union will meet in Warsaw on Friday 31 January for an informal ministerial meeting under the Polish Presidency.
Issues relating to the Rule of law and judicial cooperation, the future of the justice system within the EU and the consequences of the war crimes committed in Ukraine are the three areas for discussion at this meeting.
Rule of law and judicial cooperation. The proceedings will begin with a session devoted to the challenges posed by a weakening of the Rule of law and the consequences for European judicial cooperation. As reported in the Polish Presidency’s briefing note, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recalled that “each Member State shares with all the Member States (...) a set of common values” and that the principle of mutual trust is based on considering “that the other Member States are complying with EU law and particularly with the fundamental rights”.
However, developments in the case law of the CJEU have introduced exceptions to the principle of mutual recognition, particularly in relation to the European Arrest Warrant.
Ministers will discuss ways of strengthening mutual trust and respect for the independence and effectiveness of judicial systems. The coexistence of important objects - mutual trust and respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law - requires a “careful balancing act”.
The future of European justice. During the working lunch, ministers will discuss the possibilities for modernising European justice. The Presidency is banking on a citizen-centred approach, because “feelings of injustice and unfairness might create a fertile soil for populism and radicalism”.
The issue of digitalising judicial systems and adopting common standards to ensure more accessible justice will be addressed.
According to the Justice Scoreboard 2024, presented by the Commission last June (see EUROPE 13429/14), there are “important disparities between Member States on a wide range of issues”. This finding supports a stronger European framework to ensure fairer and more effective justice.
Tackling war crimes in Ukraine. The afternoon will be devoted to measures to document and prosecute war crimes committed in Ukraine.
The EU has already set up a number of initiatives, including the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), launched in July 2023 (see EUROPE 13214/10), and the Core International Crimes Evidence Database (CICED) managed by Eurojust, which make it possible to centralise evidence and facilitate international investigations (see EUROPE 13445/21).
However, the Presidency stresses that “despite their significance, the EU’s actions have not yet fully achieved the intended goal of stopping hostilities. The legal framework for addressing international crimes (...) continues to encounter obstacles”.
Discussions will therefore focus on ways of strengthening cooperation between national courts and international bodies, as well as extending the powers of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to cover violations of EU sanctions against Russia.
Finally, the issue of support for the victims of the war will also be raised.
Links to discussion notes: https://aeur.eu/f/fa5 ; https://aeur.eu/f/fa6 ; https://aeur.eu/f/fa7 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)