ENCJ Standards on Councils for the Judiciary
On 9 June 2023, the ENCJ adopted the model of a Code of Conduct for Members of Councils for the Judiciary.
The model of a Code of Conduct could be used by Councils as an inspiration to draft a code of conduct that would contain values, principles, standards or good practices for members acting within the Councils for the Judiciary.
In the ENCJ compendium on Councils for the Judiciary that was adopted in October 2021 the following recommendation was added: ENCJ recommends that Councils for the Judiciary develop standards of professional behaviour and ethical conduct for their members (both judicial and non-judicial) in a similar way as is done for judges.
At the Extraordinary General Assembly in Vilnius, the matter was discussed in breakout groups. The first general conclusion which was drawn for the discussion is that most judiciaries already have a code of ethics for the judges.
However, it was felt that all members of Councils for the Judiciary should be guided by the same rules. There should be uniformity of main values.
The participants found that the ENCJ could set up a working group, to map the existing practices and instruments that are already in place in some Councils for the Judiciary, elaborate a questionnaire, further circulate the questionnaire to the Councils, and finally work on the collected information.
An intermediate report on a Code of Conduct was presented at the General Assembly in Athens.
The final version of the model of a Code of Conduct was presented and adopted at the General Assembly in Ljubljana.
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On 29 October 2021 the ENCJ adopted the Compendium on Councils for the Judiciary. The compendium is a summary of the statements, declarations and reports that the ENCJ has adopted on Councils for the Judiciary since its establishment in 2004 with some new standards and recommendations added. New standards touch upon the the composition of Councils, security of tenure, Presidency of the Council, incompatibilities and the need for codes of conduct for the Councils. Lastly the compendium deals with the cooperation between Councils in the EU.
In 2010/2011 a project team set out to develop recommendations on Councils for the Judiciary. The report on Councils for the Judiciary that was drafted by the project team contains a set of recommendations dealing with the composition, presidency and powers of Councils for the Judiciary. It also considers the participation of the Minister of Justice in the Council and the relation between the Council and the other State Powers.
In 2008 the ENCJ adopted the Declaration of Budapest. The Declaration sets out a number of recommendations for the composition and functioning of the Councils for the Judiciary.
On the Members page fact sheets can be found that set out the composition and competences of the Councils for the Judiciary in the EU.
