Network of pilot courts
The Network of pilot courts contributes to the work of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). The Network provides a better understanding of the day-to-day functioning of courts and allows exchanges of good practices of the justice systems of the member States of the Council of Europe.
The activities of the Network are steered by the SATURN Working group on judicial time management of the CEPEJ.
Forum of information: The pilot courts are privileged addressees of the information on the work and achievements of the CEPEJ. They are invited to disseminate this information within their national networks. The Network is instrumental in sharing practices implemented in their judicial systems to improve the functioning of courts.
Forum of reflection: The Network is consulted on various issues addressed by the CEPEJ. The consultation usually takes the form of on-line questionnaires and feedback focusing on the key aspects of the future CEPEJ tools.
Forum of implementation: The CEPEJ relies on the Network to implement and promote innovative projects pertaining to the efficiency and quality of justice. Some pilot courts can trial measures and tools proposed by the CEPEJ.
The pilot courts can be first instance or higher instance courts in civil, administrative or criminal matters. The pilot courts must be available to cooperate with the CEPEJ.
Composition of the Network appears in each country profile
10 April 2024 - 17th Annual Meeting – Agenda – News
Focus: Backlog reduction / Evaluation of judges / Use of Generative AI in courts / Evaluation of judicial systems
30 March 2023 – 16th Annual Meeting – Agenda – News
Focus: Backlog reduction / Evaluation of judges / Reduction of workload of judges
13 October 2022 – 15th Annual Meeting – Agenda – News
Focus: Gender diversity in the recruitment and promotion of judges / Using e-auctions in the courts
4 May 2022 – Thematic Seminar – Detecting delays in civil proceedings – Agenda – News
Selected CEPEJ tools for courts:
- Handbook on court dashboards (June 2021)
- Revised SATURN Guidelines for judicial time management (4th révision) (December 2021)
- Guidelines on electronic court filing (e-filing) and digitalisation of courts (December 2021)
- Guidelines on videoconferencing in judicial proceedings (June 2021)
- For a better integration of the user in the judicial systems: Guidelines and comparative studies on the centrality of the user in legal proceedings in civil matters and on the simplification and clarification of language with users (June 2021)
- Handbook for conducting satisfaction surveys aimed at Court users in the Council of Europe's member State (December 2016)
- Questionnaire on analysing the length of civil proceedings (October 2022)
- Questionnaire on judicial management in times of crisis (April 2021)
- Questionnaire on ensuring gender diversity in the recruitment and promotion of judges (October 2020)
- Questionnaire on centrality of the users in court proceedings related to civil matters (July 2020)
- Questionnaire on clear and simple communication with litigants (July 2020)
- Definition of a pending case (September 2018)
- Categorisation of cases (September 2018)
- Organisation and accessibility of Court premises (April 2013)
- Which indicators for measuring the quality of justice? (2011)
- Common case categories, judicial timeframes and delays (2007)
Video on the 16th meeting of the CEPEJ Network of pilot courts on 30 March 2023 (Lublin, Poland)
Collaborative workspaces:
