Judge Anke Eilers (Germany), CCJE President-elect for 2022, took part in the Conference on the Rule of Law in Europe organised on 9-10 December 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal, by the Association “Magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés” (MEDEL), which has an observer status with the CCJE.

Judge Eilers spoke in particular on the implications of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights as regards the judicial independence. Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that everyone has the right to an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. There is consequently a vast jurisprudence of the Court on what an independent tribunal should be. The relevance of the concept derives from the fact that it is an element of the judicial system vital to the strengthening and functioning of the rule of law.

Many judgments of the Court highlighted various aspects of the judicial independence and impartiality, including institutional issues such as the independence of the judiciary from other state powers and functioning of the Councils for the Judiciary, as well as individual independence of judges based on the guarantees of their term of office and their irremovability, and various aspects of the judicial career. The CCJE, in elaborating its Opinions, relies continuously and heavily on the case-law of the Court. 

Statement of the CCJE President

The website of the conference can be consulted here.