Opinion n°15 on the specialisation of Judges
At its 1127th meeting of 24 November 2011, the Committee of Ministers adopted the terms of reference of the CCJE for 2012 and 2013. These terms of reference contain also the adoption, in 2012, of an opinion (No. 15) on the specialisation of judges. The opinion has been adopted at the 13th plenary meeting of the CCJE, on 6 November 2012.
Working party
The working party in charge of drafting the opinion held its first meeting from 26 to 28 March. Its second meeting took place in Strasbourg, from 18 to 20 June 2012.
- Report of the meeting of the Working group from 18 to 20 June 2012
- Report of the meeting of the Working group from 26 to 28 March 2012
The composition of the Working group was as follows:
Members
- Durro SESSA (Croatia)
- Jean-Claude WIWINIUS (Luxembourg)
- Niels ENGSTAD (Norway)
- Orlando AFONSO (Portugal)
- Nina BETETTO (Slovenia)
- José COBO SAENZ (Spain)
- Bernard CORBOZ (Switzerland)
- Aneta ARNAUDOVSKA (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
- Lord Justice Richard AIKENS (United Kingdom)
Deputy members
- Johannes RIEDEL (Germany)
- Alain LACABARATS (France
Useful documents
- Questionnaire sent to member States with a view of the preparation of Opinion No. 15 on specialisation of judges
- Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities
- Proposals of amendments to the draft Opinion No.15 of the CCJE by the CCJE members
- Compilation of the replies to the questionnaire
Replies by country
Observers:
- Mexico [sp]
Resources
- European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ):
- Report from the working group of the Network "Performance management"
- Report from the working team "timeliness" / 2011
- ENCJ PROJECT TEAM - Development of Minimum Judicial Standards; Report 2010-2011; 3.2. Minimum Standards regarding the role assigned to continuing judicial training in the promotion or specialization of members of the judiciary
- France: Projet de loi au Sénat sur la spécialisation rendue nécessaire par un contentieux de plus en plus complexe (Présenté au Sénat le 03 mars 2010) [fr]
- New Zealand: Judicial Law commission of New Zealand
- Probing the effects of judicial specialization : Americans typically think of judges as generalists, by Lawrence Baum
- Judicial specialization, litigant influence, and substantive policy: the Court of customs and patent appeals, by Lawrence Baum
- Specializing the courts, by Lawrence Baum
- Is There a Right Judge for Each Case? A Comparative Study of Case / Assignment in Six European Countries, by Marco Fabri and Philip Langbroek
- Congress weighs patent specialization for federal judges, by Timothy B. Lee
- Balancing Territoriality and Functionality;Specialization as a Tool for Reforming Jurisdiction in the Netherlands, France and Germany By Elaine Mak, Lecturer – Erasmus University Rotterdam, School of Law
- The courts of international trade: judicial specialization, expertise, and Bureaucratic policy making, by Isaac Unah
- Is There a Need for Specialization By the Courts (and Prosecutors)? Brian PearceBrian PearceResident Legal Adviser/US Embassy & TCLIResident TCLIFederal Prosecutor/US Dept. of JusticeFederal Justice
- Judging, Expertise, and the Rule of Law, by Chad M. Oldfather, Marquette University - Law School
- LexNet (International Law Network)