Impact and lessons of the COVID-19 crisis as regards the efficiency of justice and the functioning of the judiciary

During the Covid19 pandemic, member States had to adapt to new circumstances. A compilation of measures was made by the CEPEJ at the beginning of the health crisis and is regularly updated. To guide States, the CEPEJ organised a meeting on 10 June 2020, in the framework of the Greek Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, on the impact and lessons of the COVID19 crisis as regards the efficiency of justice and the functioning of the judiciary, which led to the adoption of the "Declaration on lessons learnt and challenges faced by the judiciary during and after the COVID19 pandemic"

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Seminar 10 June 2020: Impact & lessons of the COVID-19 crisis on the functioning of the judiciary

Session I - Impact of the Covid19 crisis: is it possible to ensure normally the public service of justice?

Session II – After the Covid19 crisis: which lessons for the justice systems in 2021 and beyond?

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Back Exceptional meeting of the CEPEJ on the impact and lessons of the health crisis on the efficiency of justice and the functioning of judicial systems

Exceptional meeting of the CEPEJ on the impact and lessons of the health crisis on the efficiency of justice and the functioning of judicial systems

The CEPEJ held an ad hoc meeting on 10 June by video conference to look into a range of issues related to the delivery of justice and the functioning of courts during and after the COVID19 pandemic. The meeting brought together members and observers of the CEPEJ to reflect and draw lessons from the crisis with a view to achieving more efficient justice in Council of Europe member States, with full respect for human rights and fair trial requirements. The issues which have been examined by participants included the limits and challenges of the use of IT tools for the functioning of justice, the safety of justice professionals, the impact of the crisis for lawyers, and many others. A synthetic overview of how justice systems have faced up to the Covid-19 pandemic has been presented by Jean-Paul Jean, Honorary President of Chamber at the French Court of Cassation.

This event has been organised within the framework of the Greek Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, for which the key theme is "The protection of human life and public health in a pandemic situation - Effective management of a health crisis in full respect of human rights and the principles of democracy and the rule of law".

The meeting was opened by Marija PEJČINOVĆI BURIĆ, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Jānis Bordāns, Minister of Justice of Latvia and Ramin GURBANOV, President of the CEPEJ. The opening of the event has been moderated by Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe. It has been closed by Milti Adis VARVITSIOTIS, Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This virtual meeting concluded with the adoption by the CEPEJ of a “Declaration on lessons learnt and Challenges faced by the judiciary during and after the Covid-19 Pandemic”.

Many of these issues have been touched upon in the CEPEJ’s compilation of solutions and measures set up within the member States to ensure the functioning of the European judicial systems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.