Making the most of the opportunity provided by the 2nd Regional Conference of the South-Mediterranean Network of Justice Inspection Services, which was held in nearby Taghazout (Morocco) on 3 and 4 July 2023, the General Prosecutor of the Agadir Court of Appeal, Mr Abderazzek Fettah, organised a meeting at his premises. The purpose of this meeting was to present a recent project setting up highly detailed dashboards on the activities of the Public Prosecutor's Office throughout the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal, updated on a daily basis. Mr Mohamed Oukhlifa, representing the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor's Office, also attended the meeting. These dashboards, which have been set up and are managed by a dedicated team made up of prosecutors, registrars and IT technicians at the Court of Appeal and supervised by the Public Prosecutor, are based on the CEPEJ's tools for managing judicial time. This meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the future bilateral cooperation programme between the CEPEJ and the Kingdom of Morocco, which should be signed with the European Union, concerning support for judicial reform in Morocco. Within the framework of this programme, specific support could be decided with the beneficiaries to reinforce this type of activities aimed at improving the efficiency of justice through a better knowledge and analysis of the workloads of judges and prosecutors.
South Programme V
September 2022 – August 2025
European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programme
“Protecting human rights, rule of law and democracy through shared standards in the Southern Mediterranean (South programme V)”
financed under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument of the European Union
Context of the project
The CEPEJ, through its previous work under the South Programme I, II, III and IV, built strong relations with the judicial authorities and legal professionals of certain countries of the Region (Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt in particular). An "on demand" approach was pursued and aimed at meeting the specific needs of beneficiaries. Thus, responding to a request targeting the efficiency of justice the cooperation has evolved towards an approach more focused on the quality of justice and cyberjustice.
Achieving a better protection of human rights, rule of law and democracy in the Southern Mediterranean region in line with European and international standards is the overall objective of the fifth phase of the South Programme. Promoting the use of CEPEJ tools through best practices sharing, round tables, conferences, workshops, and peer to peer exchanges will be essential. South Programme V builds upon the activities implemented under the previous phases, with a strengthened regional focus (regional activities targeting issues of common interest of the beneficiaries and supporting the existing regional networks) and providing tailored support to the beneficiaries of the region.
Objectives of the project
To strengthen the capacities of the Southern Mediterranean beneficiaries in the field of implementation of judicial reforms and the efficiency and the quality of justice systems, and to reinforce the dialogue and networking between justice professionals, institutions and bodies at national, regional and international level, based on the CEPEJ methodology and on European and international standards.
Expected results
- Regional, multilateral and bilateral events will be organised to raise awareness on the CEPEJ tools and methodology as well as best international practices, and to promote regional exchanges on good practices (as examples – improving data collection, introducing and operating judicial dashboards, promoting alternative dispute resolution and mediation tools)
- Regional events in the framework of existing networks will be organised (notably, the informal network of justice inspection services, the development of which was supported in phase IV of the South Programme), these networks will be consolidated, and further support will be provided
- Tailored support will be provided to the beneficiaries, on the national authorities’ demand (some examples – assessments and evaluations of the functioning of a judicial system, support in reducing backlogs and in introducing cyberjustice tools)
Beneficiaries
Ministries of Justice, High Councils of Justice, justice inspection services, pilot courts, courts’ staff, lawyers and other relevant beneficiaries in the region, Council of State of Egypt.
Laetitia Dimanche
Project officer
+33 (0)3 88 90 21 44 90
Sandrine Lutz
Project assistant
+33 (0)3 88 41 35 54
- Training kit (available in Arabic and French)
- Facebook page of the South Programme V
- Website of the South programme V
- Link to the internet page of the European Union - Southern Neighbourhood
- Facebook page of the Council of Europe office in Tunisia
- Facebook page of the Council of Europe office in Morocco
CEPEJ documents translated into Arabic
- Overview of the CEPEJ (information leaflet)
- SATURN revised guidelines for judicial time management (CEPEJ(2014)16) - 12 December 2014
- The 15 main guidelines of the SATURN Centre for judicial time management
- Handbook (summary of the methodology) for the implementation of the tools of the SATURN Centre for judicial time management
- A model of report concerning judicial time management
- Guidelines on the role of court-appointed experts in judicial proceedings of Council of Europe's Member States (CEPEJ(2014)14), 12 December 2014
- Handbook for conducting satisfaction surveys aimed at Court users in Council of Europe's member States (CEPEJ(2010)1 - 26 novembre 2010)
- Handbook for satisfaction surveys aimed at lawyers (CEPEJ(2010)1)
- Checklist for promoting the quality of justice and the courts (CEPEJ(2008)2), 3 juillet 2008
- Recommandation CM/Rec(2010)12 on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities (17 November 2010)
- Guidelines for a better implementation of the existing Council of Europe's recommendation on enforcement (CEPEJ(2009)11Rev2) - 17 December 2009)
Collaborative workspaces:
