Presentation of the EJE project during the "European Day of Civil Justice 2011

The EJE project was presented on October 25 at the "European Day of Civil Justice 2011" celebrated in Toulouse.

Like the other major "European Days", the European Commission and the Council of Europe established in 2003 a "European Day of Civil Justice," celebrated every year on October 25, to bring civil justice within reach of European citizens and to facilitate their access to civil justice.

By creating this « European day », the European Commission and the Council of Europe wanted to create a symbolic event aimed at put the spotlight on civil justice and at encouraging the organization of information and awareness that will enable participants to better understand the functioning of judicial systems and instruments of civil justice. The day also contributes to the awareness of the emergence of a common judicial area to all Europeans.

The day held at the Court of Toulouse on October 25 was a key event of the "European Day of Civil Justice."

Devoted to "the significance of European law in local practices of legal professionals", the event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Justice, representatives of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, representatives of the Council of Europe, as well as judges, professors, judicial officers, notaries, lawyers and in house counsels.

Many European texts have been adopted in recent years (divorce, maintenance obligations or enforcement of judgments in civil matters). These texts have fundamentally changed the practices of legal professionals. "In ten years, the EU has provided all practitioners with performing European tools" recalled Laurent Vallée, Director of Civil Affairs at the French Ministry of Justice, at the opening of the work.

Workshops, led to the initiative of legal profession and animated by institutional representatives and legal professionals enriched the debates on the following topics:
- The European public order and the treatment of civil litigation;
- The European mobility of professionals;
- The free movement of authentic acts;
- The improvement of the enforcement of judgments within the European Union;
- The enforcement of the European partnership acts.

It was the opportunity to deepen knowledge of European law and to share experiences.

Judicial officers were particularly involved in the organization of the workshop on the improvement of the enforcement of judgments within the European Union.This workshop was chaired by Guillaume Raynaud, Chairman of the Departmental Chamber of Judicial officers of Haute-Garonne, who has compiled an inventory of the interference of European law in the daily practice of the judicial officer. The floor was then given to Nathalie Fricero, Professor at the University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis, who exposed the progressive elimination of obstacles to free movement of judgments in Europe and the articulation with the principle of territoriality of enforcement proceedings. Patricia De Luca, member of the Directorate General "Civil Justice" of the European Commission, presented the work initiated by the European Commission to improve the cross-border recovery of debts. It was an opportunity to explain the new proposal for a regulation creating a European bank account preservation order, published last July. Geraldine Cavaillé, EJE Project Manager, presented the progress made by the implementation of this project and the EJE website which provides the public with information on law and enforcement procedures in the different Member States and a European directory of judicial officers. Finally, Patrick Safar, Member of the French National Chamber of judicial officers and "contact point" within the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters (EJNCC) presented the role of the EJNCC in improving the enforcement of judgments in Europe and the support it is likely to bring in the daily practice of the bailiff.

The reflections in the various workshops have provided proposals to improve legal and judicial practice of civil justice in Europe. Thus it was recalled the need to improve the training of judges, lawyers but also of the judicial officers, key actors of this area of justice. "To implement judgments would require that professionals are trained in procedures of other countries of the European Union," insisted Natalie Fricéro. It was also proposed to develop training modules and explanatory dictionary of legal terms in order to understand and implement concept from a legal system to another.