Provisional Programme of the German EU Council Presidency in the Field of JusticeCreating an area of freedom, security and justice remains a primary task of European policymaking.
The European Union constitutes more than merely an internal market and an area of security. The citizens of Europe expect resolute action by the European Union to preserve their interests in freedom in an area without internal borders.
During the German Presidency, we will focus on these expectations in the area of justice policy. The citizens of Europe expect the strengthening of citizens’ rights, a secure legal framework which transcends European borders for their private and business activities, and the strengthening of the justice system, particularly in terms of practical cooperation.
Without the completion of a European area of justice in both civil and criminal law, the European internal market will retain its patchwork quality. Increasing passenger traffic and the growing number of cross-border commercial activities require simple and non-discriminatory access to the legal system. Mutual recognition of judicial decisions protects citizens against legal complications in cross-border cases. However, such recognition must be founded upon confidence in the legal systems of the other Member States, for which the protection of citizens’ rights is indispensable.
These goals also provide the guidelines for the cooperative work until mid-2008 by the upcoming German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies.
Creating an area of freedom, security and justice requires the protection of citizens and, in equal measure, securing citizens’ rights. During its Presidency, Germany will thus strive to enhance the predictability and transparency of government action.
Until now, the focus of work in the field of justice has been the adoption of common criminal law provisions and in enhancing judicial cooperation among the Member States. The German Presidency plans to place the second aspect – which is indispensably connected with the first – into the foreground as well: Securing our citizens’ rights includes:
Securing procedural rights in criminal proceedings. Agreement as to minimum standards in criminal proceedings is one of the core elements of strengthening citizens’ rights. The principle of mutual recognition will take hold and become effective throughout Europe only if it is based upon adequate trust in the legal systems of the other Member States. As such, Germany supports the work on a Framework Decision which would define minimum requirements regarding the rights of accused persons and defendants.
Protection against racism and xenophobia. Racism and xenophobia must be combated in a clear and unambiguous manner. The German Presidency thus plans to resume the stalled negotiations on the Framework Decision on racism and xenophobia.
Transparency and predictability of government action. All citizens must know when they will be subjected to judicial measures of another Member State. To facilitate this, the principle of mutual recognition must be stated in more precise terms. As such, the German Presidency will place special focus on discussing the question of when an order from another Member State will be recognised and enforced without an assessment of double criminality.
In the legal instruments thus far, this has been undertaken on the basis of legal definitions which are sometimes imprecise – for example, with respect to sabotage, terrorism, as well as racism and xenophobia. For some of these so-called “listed offences,” the ideas of the Member States vary with regard to their understanding of the abstract groups of offences. We will work to more precisely formulate the definitions in order to make government action more predictable in this area as well. The German Presidency is thereby acting upon instructions elaborated by the JHA Council when it adopted the Framework Decision on the European Evidence Warrant.
2.1. A citizens’ Europe
Our citizens expect to be able to move freely across the borders of the Member States in their everyday lives within a secure and predictable legal framework. This encompasses easier cross-border assertion of maintenance claims, clear rules regarding which law will be applicable in the case of divorce, enhanced protection of intellectual property rights, as well as improvements in consumer protection law.
Legal certainty in family law. The German Presidency will strive to make progress in the debate on the proposals for the law applicable to matters of maintenance, divorce and inheritance. These include the Regulation on maintenance claims, the Regulation on the law applicable to matters of divorce, and the Green Paper on the law of inheritance, wills and testaments.
Legal certainty in private law. Currently, rules vary in the Member States regarding which law is applicable to a given international case. This can lead to plaintiffs selecting the law most advantageous to them. The German Presidency will strive to harmonise these rules regarding connecting factors. Our goal is to have the same law applied before every court in the European Union; thus, every citizen and every company will know which legal regulations they will be subjected to. This goal is served by the Regulation on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (Rome I Regulation) and the Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-contractual Obligations (Rome II Regulation).
Efficient assertion of rights. Citizens and companies will begin to use the internal market only if and when they are sure that they will be able to effectively assert their rights. Particularly in the area of small claims, the fear of high costs and protracted proceedings often deters people from enforcing their rights. For that reason, the German Presidency will strive to conclude the work on the Regulation on small claims, which makes available a rapid and efficient system for asserting cross-border small claims.
2.2. Legal certainty for companies
The realisation of the European internal market includes the creation of a secure legal framework for companies. This includes the Directive on cross-border transfers of registered offices; the German Presidency will continue the deliberations on this matter. Furthermore, the German Presidency will promote work on the establishment of a European private company, which is designed to make available to small- and medium-sized enterprises a new legal form for cross-border business activities.
2.3. Protection of intellectual property in Europe
The German Presidency will work actively to improve the European patent system, particularly by making progress with the uniform system of dispute resolution called for by the European business sector. An international conference with all Member States in Berlin during the German Presidency will address the establishment of an affordable, secure and efficient patent system.
2.4. Strengthening European consumer protection law
In some specific areas, provisions of European law have secured adequate and coherent consumer protection. During the German Presidency, we will strive to complete work on the consumer credit Directive. Simultaneously, we plan to begin deliberations on the review of overall contractual consumer protection law. Our goal is to create a coherent and consistent system. With a conference on European contract law, the German presidency will provide a platform for debate between legal policymakers, scholars and legal practitioners.
2.5. More coherence in civil and criminal law
The Hague Programme calls for securing more coherence in both civil and criminal law. Therefore, we shall place particular focus on the topic of coherence at the meetings of the JHA Council. One substantive aspect of this is the work on a common frame of reference for European contract law.
We will strive to support initiatives which enhance practical cooperation between courts and judicial authorities in both criminal and civil law.
Solving problems associated with judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The German Presidency will strive to make progress on networking the Criminal Registers, thus building upon the model project initiated by France, Spain, Belgium and Germany. The goal is to have all Member States participate in this exchange of information on criminal convictions. This goal is also served by establishing the legal basis for the treatment of register information in the Member States, which is the purpose of the Framework Decision on the exchange of information from the criminal registers of the Member States. We plan to complete work on the Framework Decision on the cross-border enforcement of criminal convictions involving deprivation of liberty. Finally, the German Presidency will review an initiative on the cross-border supervision of probation. The goal here is to secure effective enforcement of conditions of probation in other Member States and simultaneously to avoid prison terms which would lead to only a term of probation in a purely national case.
Promoting electronic legal communication. The project “Work on e-Justice” will be fostered by the German Presidency, which will organise a conference on this topic in Bremen which will bring together representatives from all Member States. Its purpose will be to make practical progress in using information technologies in cross-border judicial procedures in Europe and to better structure efforts toward European standards.
