KEY POINTS

The legislation’s general objective is to further develop a European area of justice based on:

the rule of law, including the judiciary’s independence and impartiality;
mutual recognition and mutual trust;
judicial cooperation.

The programme’s specific objectives are to:

support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters and promote the rule of law and independence and impartiality of the judiciary (27% of the budget);
encourage training of the judiciary and judicial staff* to foster a common legal and judicial culture based on the rule of law and the effective implementation of EU legal decisions (36% of the budget);
facilitate effective and non-discriminatory access to justice for all and effective remedies, efficient civil and criminal procedures, and support the rights of victims of crime and the procedural rights of suspects and of accused persons (27% of the budget).

The 7-year budget to implement the programme is €305 million. An additional 10% may be shared between the three specific objectives to promote the rule of law.

Non-EU countries may participate in the programme subject to certain conditions.

The following activities are eligible for funding:

raising awareness and disseminating information to improve knowledge of EU policies and law, including comparative law and the interaction between different areas of law;
encouraging mutual learning and exchange of good practice to develop knowledge of civil and criminal law and national judicial systems;
analysing and monitoring to understand potential obstacles to a European area of justice and to improve national implementation of EU law and policies;
training relevant stakeholders to increase understanding of EU law and policies;
developing and maintaining information and communication technology and e-justice tools, including cross-border interoperability between systems;
increasing the capacity of key European networks to promote and further develop EU law, values, policy goals and strategies;
supporting civil-society organisations and non-profit stakeholders active in areas covered by the programme and to ensure adequate access for citizens to their various services;
enhancing knowledge of the programme, disseminating its results and organising discussion forums for stakeholders.

Legal entities* are eligible for funding if they are:

established in an EU Member State or a linked overseas country or territory, or in a non-EU country associated with the programme;
created under EU law, or any international organisation.

The programme supports the European Judicial Training Network’s permanent work programme.

Work programme

The programme is implemented by work programmes, adopted by the European Commission by means of implementing acts. The justice work programme for 2021-2022 has been published by the Commission.

Repeal

The legislation repeals Regulation (EU) No 1382/2013 from 1 January 2021.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2021.

BACKGROUND

A properly functioning EU justice area, without obstacles to cross-border access to justice, is essential to ensure economic growth and the internal market’s full potential. Much of this cooperation relies on mutual trust. The justice programme’s various activities play a key role in strengthening this trust in particular by facilitating access to justice and promoting judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, and the effectiveness of national justice systems.

For more information, see:

Justice programme (JUST) (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Judiciary and judicial staff: judges, prosecutors, court and prosecutor office staff and other justice professionals associated with the judiciary.

Legal entity: an individual, company or organisation that has legal rights and obligations.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2021/693 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Justice Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1382/2013 (OJ L 156, 5.5.2021, pp. 21-38)

last update 30.06.2021

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