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10 May
09:00 - 18:30
Challenges to judicial independence and rule of law in the European Union

TRIIAL FINAL CONFERENCE (hybrid)

For more than a decade, the European Union has been re-examining the ways to safeguard Member State compliance  with the foundational values enshrined in Article 2 TEU, with special attention to the rule of law, judicial independence and the right to a fair trial.

TRIIAL Final Conference - Challenges to judicial independence and rule of law in the European Union offers to take stock of these legal developments.

The European Commission funded TRIIAL Project (1 Jan 2020- 30 June 2022) aimed to address the needs of the legal community confronted with rule of law backsliding in many Member States of the European Union. In some States, (proposed) reforms of the systems of administration of justice gave rise to the litigation before European courts, whereas in others these developments have sparked debates about the need for reform and updating the existing arrangements with the view of ensuring the demands of the rule of law. These phenomena have led to the refinement and further development of existing standards of judicial independence, impartiality and accountability with a view to ensuring mutual trust among the Member States of the European Union. Both the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have contributed to this process.

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Venue:
Maastricht University Campus Brussels
Avenue de Tervueren 153
1150 Brussels

Contact (practicalities):
Faculty of Law
Elke Hundhausen

 

 

INFO

In the framework of TRIIAL project a group of researchers from a large number of jurisdictions across the European Union have worked to develop the collective knowledge on how standards of judicial independence, impartiality and accountability have been shaped on national and supra-national levels. They have contributed to a database collecting national and international materials on the topic, conducted interactive trainings and exchanges aiming at engaging the legal community in the collective reflection and development of the standards, and have created a set of tools that can be used to disseminate the knowledge of the standards and to train practitioners across the EU. This conference aims to present these results both in terms of the standards and the toolbox and to reflect over its uses in the future.

The event opens with the presentation of the TRIIAL toolbox: database, training materials, casebook and online learning platforms and continues to present the results of the research undertaken in the project. Representatives of the consortium will present the national reports. The second panel will examine the challenges the rule of law issues pose to mutual trust and mutual recognition, while the third panel will focus on the standard of judicial independence as developed in the recent case law as well as soft law. Panel IV will reflect on the applicability of the standards of independence to the special context of arbitration. The closing panel discussion will attempt to draw conclusions and look into the future. Each of the panels starts with a brief 10 min introduction of main findings of the research and continues with the discussion of the issues by panelists.

Programme on Tuesday 10 May

09.00h Welcome & Introduction by Gabor Halmai (TRIIAL Project Director) & Monica Claes (Maastricht University)
09.15h Presentation of the Project and its Deliverables & Kick-starting the Discussions by Madalina Moraru, project manager (EUI)
09.30h

Panel I - Rule of law challenges in EU MSs - Presentation of Country Reports & Cross-Border Issues:
 
  • Introductory comments based on TRIIAL findings & Chairing by Mohor Fadiga (University of Ljubljana)
  • Belgium – Rebecca Aspetti, Maastricht University
  • Hungary – Zoltan Fleck, Loránd Eötvös University, Budapest
  • Italy – Gianluca Grasso, Scuola Superiore della Magistratura
  • Poland – Marcin Michalak, University of Gdańsk and Jarosław Gwizdak Institute for Law and Society, INPRIS, Warsaw 
  • Portugal – Afonso Brás Lisbon Centre for Research in Public Law (CIDP)
  • Romania – Raluca Bercea, West University of Timişoara
  • The Netherlands – Karolina Podstawa, Maastricht University
  • Slovenia - Mohor Fadiga – University of Ljubljana
  • Spain – David Mier Gallera, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
11.30h Coffee Break
11.45h

Panel II - Mutual Trust and Rule of Law - when in doubt about the rule of law in another MS’s system 
 
  • Introductory comments based on TRIIAL findings & Chairing: Marcella Ferri (Researcher at the University of Firenze)  
  • Critical assessment and way forward:
  • Florentino Ruiz Yamuza, Judge at Huelva Court of Appeal and member of the Spanish Supreme Judicial Council 

  • Caroline Biggs, Judge at the Irish High Court

  • Matteo Bonelli, Assistant Professor, Maastricht University
  • Bostjan Zalar, Judge at the Supreme Administrative Court of Slovenia
13.00h Lunch
14.00h

Panel III: Balancing Judicial Independence, Accountability, and Freedom of Expression (EUI)
 
  • Introductory comments based on TRIIAL findings & Chairing: Federica Casarosa/Mariavittoria Catanzariti (EUI)
  • Critical assessment:
  • Raffaele Sabato, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights 
  • Kees Sterk, Senior Judge at judge at Rechtbank Zeeland West-Brabant and Maastricht University
  • Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz, University of Gdańsk
  • Gabriel Toggenburg, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 
15.15h Coffee Break
15.30h

Panel IV - Independence in extra-judicial dispute resolution system (THUAS)
 
  • Introductory comments based on TRIIAL findings & Chairing: Barbara Warwas (THUAS)
  • Maud Piers, Center for the Future of Dispute Resolution at University of Ghent
  • Rita Giao Hanek, Lisbon Centre for Research in Public Law (CIDP)
16.30h

Round table – Independence, Impartiality & Accountability of Judges – Future Challenges
 
  • Introductory comments: Monica Claes (Maastricht University)
  • Panelists:
  • Markus Thoma, Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ), Judge at Austrian Supreme Administrative Court
  • David Kosar, Masaryk University
  • Wojciech Postulski, DG Justice, European Commission 
  • Petros Alikakos, European Judicial Training Network (EJTN)
18.00h Closing remarks by Gabor Halmai, TRIIAL Project Director and Monica Claes, Maastricht University
18.30h End

 

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