Edinburgh (United Kingdom), 27.10.2017 – The Norwegian Courts Administration has just been rewarded for an initiative entitled “Witness Service in Norwegian courts”. The 2017 European Crystal Scales of Justice prize, organised by the Council of Europe and rewarding innovative judicial practices in the European judicial institutions, was awarded to this Administration on 27 October 2017 in Edinburgh (United Kingdom), on the occasion of the flagship event of the European Day of Justice, in presence of Mr Georg STAWA, President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and the jury of the competition composed of eminent personalities from the judicial world. The project “Witness Service in Norwegian courts” is the result of a national agreement between the Norwegian Courts Administration and the Norwegian Red Cross. Through this initiative, Red cross volunteers support witnesses in judicial proceedings. Volunteers are trained and work in pairs with mentors before they fully assume this responsibility. This assistance reinforces the trust of witnesses, and consequently, the quality of their testimony. The establishment of this service also demonstrates a social responsibility of judicial administrations.
Three special mentions have been awarded by equal merit to the following three projects:

• Educational Programme “Judiciary – Informed choice and public confidence. Open Courts and Prosecutors’ Offices”, by the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Bulgaria
• Migrantes – Courts of Catania and discharging appeals against the action taken by the Territorial Commissions for International Protection, by the Court of Catania, Italy
• Court Pulse - The Management Revolution, by the Judicial-Legal Council and Institute of law and philosophy of the Academy of Sciences if Azerbaijan
• Programme of the Prize Awarding ceremony
• Press review

• Rules of the Prize and application form