The Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) organised a roundtable on “Trends and practices of special courts and specialised judges in the anti-corruption area” on 31 October 2023 in Strasbourg, France. 

The roundtable brought together judges of special and regular courts from the Council of Europe member states with the aim of presenting and discussing the findings of the analysis conducted by ECCD on “Trends and practice of Special Courts and Specialised Judges in the Anti-Corruption area”. Most notably, an emphasis was put on the reasons behind the establishment of special courts, the process of selecting relevant judges, as well as the special courts’ impact and sustainability. 

In addition, the event provided a platform for discussing the strengths and weaknesses of specialised judges or special anti-corruption courts, as well as reflect on other ways of ensuring effective prosecution and adjudication of corruption cases. Participants could also share their own practical experience, including as regards the benefits and impact of special courts in their jurisdictions, as well as the encountered challenges and needs.

A session was also dedicated to the presentation of Venice Commission’s position on specialised Anti-corruption courts – derived from the legal opinions provided to different Council of Europe member states –, as well as of the Consultative Council of European Judges’ Opinion 15 on the specialisation of judges.

Representatives of the courts agreed that an impact assessment should be done before establishing a special anti-corruption or economic court and to decide on the model to be used based on the national context and requirements. Moreover, further research should be carried out to identify whether corruption tends to decrease with the establishment of such courts, as well as whether solutions to adjudicate high level corruption can be found within the existing judiciary.

The Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division will further use the results of the comparative analysis on specialisation trends and practice in the anti-corruption area within the framework of its technical assistance efforts.