The Conference aimed to identify the main systemic and structural problems related to the non-execution of national judicial decisions. It also explored existing non-binding legal instruments for the establishment of quality enforcement procedures, which is a constitutive element of the rule of law and access to justice.
Representatives of ministries of justice, judges from the European Court, international experts, legal practitioners, academics and representatives of civil society formed a platform to discuss and exchange best practices on the enforcement of national judicial decisions.
The event was opened by Elisabeth Margue, Minister of Justice of Luxembourg, and Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe.
The Minister recalled that “the right to a tribunal would be illusory if the domestic legal order of a contracting State allowed a final and binding judicial decision to remain inoperative to the detriment of another party”.
The Director General stressed that at the core of the Conference, was “the right to a fair trial, a cornerstone of the rule of law and democracy. Without efficient and full execution of final, binding court decisions there is no rule of law”.
This initiative was in line with the Reykjavik Declaration, which called for enhanced cooperation and increased knowledge sharing between Member States to facilitate the enforcement of the European Court's judgments and improve the efficiency of judicial systems.
