The Consultative Council of European Judges of the Council of Europe will hold its 20th plenary meeting from 6 to 8 November 2019 in Strasbourg. On this occasion, it should adopt its Opinion No. 22 entitled "The role of judicial assistants", in accordance with the mandate given to it by the Committee of Ministers. The objective of this opinion is to provide the framework for judicial assistants, in their role of supporting judges, to guarantee the right to a fair trial, in accordance with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Opinion No. 22 of the CCJE lists the situations justifying employment of judicial assistants, the method of cooperation between judges and assistants, the nature of the assistants' tasks, their status, the appointment procedure and the various aspects related to their careers. This opinion should make it possible, in addition to standardising the function of judicial assistant in the light of the national laws in force in the Council of Europe member states, to preserve the independence and impartiality of judges during the exercise of their mandate.

• Link to the draft agenda of the plenary meeting
• Link to the preliminary work