The first part of the Deputies' meeting, on 8 February, focussed on the Council of Europe's activities in the field of the judiciary. In this context, the Deputies held an exchange of views with Mr Duro Sessa, Vice-President of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), which is an advisory body on issues related to the independence, impartiality and competence of judges.
The Deputies also took note of the following texts:
from the CCJE
- Opinion No. 19 (2016) on the role of court presidents;
from the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE)
- Opinion No. 11 (2016) on the quality and efficiency of the work of prosecutors, including when fighting terrorism and serious and organised crime;
from the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ)
- the report “Measuring the quality of justice”;
- the Guidelines on how to drive change towards Cyberjustice - Stock taking of tools deployed and summary of good practices;
- the Good practice guide: Structural measures adopted by some Council of Europe member States to improve the functioning of civil and administrative justice in addition to the effective domestic remedies required by Article 13 of the ECHR;
- the updated version of the Handbook for conducting satisfaction surveys aimed at court users in Council of Europe member States;
- the Implementation Guide: Towards European timeframes for judicial proceedings.
On 9 February, the Deputies held an exchange of views with experts from capitals on relations with the United Nations regarding human rights questions. This exchange comprised: a general discussion on the developments and main results of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly; an overview of co-operation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations in the human rights field in 2016; the major themes for the Human Rights Council in 2017; and a thematic discussion on cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage.
The other items examined by the Deputies appear in the Agenda and the decisions adopted are available in the meeting file.