European Day of Civil Justice

Strasbourg, 25.10.2006 – At the joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, the European Day of Civil Justice (EDCJ) will be celebrated throughout Europe on 25 October.

“The purpose of this Day is to better inform the 800 million citizens of the Council of Europe's 46 member states about their rights and the way in which justice works on a daily basis to guarantee that these rights are respected" declared Guy de Vel, the Council of Europe's Director General of Legal Affairs. "This event encourages a new, more humane way of looking at our judicial systems and the way they work, oriented towards concrete concerns" he added.

Events organised in the member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union will enable the public to approach their justice system more closely and gain a better understanding of the way the courts work. This may involve open days in courts, mock trials, colloquies, meetings with professionals, television programmes and so on, each judicial institution being free to decide the form which the Day is to take in the 46 European states concerned.

The day will be marked by the award of the European "Crystal Scales of Justice" prize for innovative practices in judicial organisation or procedure at civil law.

The day was marked by the award of the European "Crystal Scales of Justice" prize for innovative practices in judicial organisation or procedure at civil law to the regional court of Linz (Austria).