30.6.2009   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 168/35

(1)

The European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters between the Member States (the Network) was established by Council Decision 2001/470/EC (3) because it was considered that the establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice entailed the need to improve, simplify and expedite effective judicial cooperation between Member States, as well as effective access to justice, for persons engaging in cross-border litigation. The date of application of that Decision was 1 December 2002.

(2)

The Hague Programme on strengthening freedom, security and justice in the European Union, adopted by the European Council on 4 and 5 November 2004 (4), calls for further efforts to be made to facilitate access to justice and judicial cooperation in civil matters. In particular, it focuses on the effective implementation of instruments on civil justice adopted by the European Parliament and the Council and the promotion of cooperation between members of the legal professions with a view to establishing best practice.

(3)

In accordance with Article 19 of Decision 2001/470/EC, the Commission presented on 16 May 2006 a report on the operation of the Network. The report concluded that, although the Network had generally met the objectives set in 2001, it was still a long way from having developed its full potential.

(4)

In order to achieve the objectives of the Hague Programme as regards improving judicial cooperation and access to justice and to take on the expected increase in the Network’s tasks in the years ahead, the Network should have a legal framework better suited to increasing its means of action.

(5)

It is essential to achieve better operating conditions for the Network in the Member States through national contact points and thus to reinforce the role of the contact points both within the Network and in relation to judges and to the legal professions.

(6)

To this end, the Member States should assess the resources which they need to make available to the contact points so that they can fully carry out their duties. The internal distribution of competences in the Member States concerning the financing of the activities of the national members of the Network should not be affected by this Decision.

(7)

To the same end, there needs to be a contact point or points in each Member State capable of performing the functions assigned to them. If there is more than one contact point, the Member State should ensure effective coordination between them.

(8)

In future, where the law of another Member State is designated under a Community or an international instrument, the Network’s contact points should take part in informing the judicial and extra-judicial authorities in the Member States of the content of that foreign law.

(9)

Contact points should process requests for judicial cooperation fast enough to be compatible with the Decision’s general objectives.

(10)

For the purposes of calculating time limits as provided for in this Decision, Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 of the Council of 3 June 1971 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits (5) should apply.

(11)

The purpose of the electronic register is to provide information with a view to assessing the performance of the Network and the practical application of Community instruments. Therefore it should not include all the information exchanged between contact points.

(12)

Professional associations representing legal practitioners, in particular lawyers, solicitors, barristers, notaries and bailiffs directly involved in the application of Community and international instruments concerning civil justice may become members of the Network through their national organisations in order to contribute, with the contact points, to some of the Network’s specific tasks and activities.

(13)

To further develop the Network’s functions regarding access to justice, the contact points in the Member States should contribute towards providing the public with general information, using the most appropriate technological facilities and at least by providing, on the website of the Member States’ ministries of justice, a link to the website of the Network and to the authorities responsible for the actual application of those instruments. This Decision should not be interpreted as imposing on the Member States an obligation to allow the public direct access to the contact points.

(14)

When implementing this Decision, account should be taken of the gradual introduction of the European e-justice system which is intended, in particular, to facilitate judicial cooperation and access to justice.

(15)

In order to improve mutual confidence between judges in the European Union and synergies between the European networks involved, the Network should maintain ongoing relations with the other European networks which share its objectives, in particular the networks of judicial institutions and judges.

(16)

To contribute to the promotion of international judicial cooperation, the Network should develop contacts with the other judicial cooperation networks in the world and with the international organisations which promote international judicial cooperation.

(17)

To allow regular monitoring of progress in achieving the objectives of Council Decision 2001/470/EC as amended by this Decision, the Commission should present reports to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee on the Network’s activities.

(18)

Council Decision 2001/470/EC should be amended accordingly.

(19)

Since the objective of this Decision cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of this Decision, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective.

(20)

The United Kingdom and Ireland, in accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, have given notice of their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Decision.

(21)

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Decision and is not bound by it or subject to its application,

1.

Article 2 shall be amended as follows:

2.

Article 3 shall be amended as follows:

3.

Article 5, paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following:

‘2.   In particular, the contact points shall:

4.

the following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 5a

Professional associations

1.   In order to contribute to the accomplishment of the tasks provided for by Article 3, the contact points shall have appropriate contacts with the professional associations mentioned in Article 2(1)(e), in accordance with rules to be determined by each Member State.

2.   In particular, the contacts referred to in paragraph 1 may include the following activities:

3.   Professional associations shall not request information relating to individual cases from contact points.’;

5.

in Article 6, paragraph 2, the following subparagraph shall be added:

‘To this end, each Member State shall ensure, in accordance with the procedures to be determined by it, that the contact point(s) and competent authorities have the means to meet on a regular basis.’;

6.

Article 7, paragraph 1, shall be replaced by the following:

‘To facilitate the practical operation of the Network, each Member State shall ensure that the contact points have adequate knowledge of an official language of the institutions of the Union other than their own, given that they need to be able to communicate with the contact points in other Member States.’;

7.

Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 8

Processing of requests for judicial cooperation

1.   The contact points shall respond to all requests submitted to them without delay and at the latest within fifteen days of receipt thereof. If a contact point cannot reply to a request within that time limit, it shall inform the maker of the request briefly of this fact, indicating how much time it considers that it will need to reply, but this period shall not, as a rule, exceed thirty days.

2.   In order to respond as efficiently and rapidly as possible to the requests referred to in paragraph 1, the contact points shall use the most appropriate technological facilities made available to them by the Member States.

3.   The Commission shall keep a secure, limited-access electronic register of the requests for judicial cooperation and replies referred to in Article 5(2)(b), (c), (d) and (e). The contact points shall ensure that the information necessary for the establishment and operation of this register is supplied regularly to the Commission.

4.   The Commission shall supply the contact points with information on the statistics relating to the judicial cooperation requests and replies referred to in paragraph 3 at least once every six months.’;

8.

Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 9

Meetings of the contact points

1.   The contact points of the Network shall meet at least once every six months, in accordance with Article 12.

2.   Each Member State shall be represented at those meetings by one or more contact points, who may be accompanied by other members of the Network, but there shall be no more than six representatives per Member State.’;

9.

the following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 11a

Participation of observers in Network meetings

1.   Without prejudice to Article 1(2), Denmark may be represented at the meetings referred to in Articles 9 and 11.

2.   Accession countries and candidate countries may be invited to attend these meetings as observers. Third countries that are party to international agreements on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters concluded by the Community may also be invited to attend certain Network meetings as observers.

3.   Each observer State may be represented at the meetings by one or more persons, but under no circumstances may there be more than three representatives per State.’;

10.

the following Article shall be inserted at the end of Title II:

‘Article 12a

Relations with other networks and international organisations

1.   The Network shall maintain relations and share experience and best practice with the other European networks that share its objectives, such as the European Judicial Network in criminal matters. The Network shall also maintain relations with the European Judicial Training Network with a view to promoting, where appropriate and without prejudice to national practices, training sessions on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters for the benefit of the local judicial authorities of the Member States.

2.   The Network shall maintain relations with the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net). In particular, in order to supply any general information on the working of Community and international instruments to facilitate consumer access to justice, the contact points of the Network shall be at the disposal of the members of ECC-Net.

3.   In order to meet its responsibilities under Article 3 concerning international instruments on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, the Network shall maintain contact and exchanges of experience with the other judicial cooperation networks established between third countries and with international organisations that promote international judicial cooperation.

4.   The Commission, in close cooperation with the Presidency of the Council and the Member States, shall be responsible for implementing the provisions of this Article.’;

11.

the heading of Title III shall be replaced by the following:

12.

in Article 13, paragraph 1, the following point shall be added:

13.

the following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 13a

Provision of general information to the public

The Network shall contribute towards providing the public with general information, using the most appropriate technological facilities to inform it about the content and working of Community or international instruments on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.

To that end, and without prejudice to the provisions of Article 18, the contact points shall promote to the public the information system referred to in Article 14.’;

14.

in Article 17(4), point (b) shall be replaced by the following:

15.

in Article 18, point 4, the word ‘progressively’ shall be deleted;

16.

Article 19 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 19

Reporting

No later than 1 January 2014, and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee a report on the activities of the Network. This report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by proposals aimed at adapting this Decision and shall include information on the Network’s activities aimed at making progress with the design, development and implementation of European e-justice, particularly from the point of view of facilitating access to justice.’;

17.

Article 20 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 20

Notification

No later than 1 July 2010, the Member States shall notify the Commission of the information referred to in Article 2(5).’.