EU training networks & structures

The European Centre for Judges and Lawyers is a specialised Antenna of the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). The Centre is located in Luxembourg and is dedicated to training judges, prosecutors, private practicing lawyers and lawyers from public administrations in the EU member states, candidate countries and countries with association agreements with the EU as well as the EFTA countries.

Types of training activities developed

The European Commission’s communication on judicial training of September 2011 identifies EIPA as one of the few European-level providers of training to the judiciary and other legal professions. The majority of these training activities is developed and delivered by EIPA’s European Centre for Judges and Lawyers (EIPA ECJL).

In addition to open enrolment training and conference activities, EIPA ECJL provides a variety of tailor made and practice-oriented training, consultancy and coaching services as well as comparative research related to the implementation of EU law and judicial training in the EU Member States and countries associated with the EU (candidate countries, EFTA countries, etc.). These services are delivered under contracts and action grants awarded by the EU Institutions or through bilateral contracts with the national administrations.

Within the category of open enrolment activities, the Centre offers the following types of activities:

practice-oriented workshops of varying duration
adult life-long educational programmes, such as Master programmes and Master-level classes (both face-to-face and blended on-line learning programmes); our offer provides programmes lasting from one week to two years
individually selected e-learning tutorials on access to documents, internal market issues (such as free movement of people, public procurement, etc.), environmental law and judicial co-operation issues
conferences on recent developments in various legal areas, such as EU environmental and financial services law, judicial co-operation issues, EU civil service law and recent trends of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice

Within the category of contract activities, EIPA and its European Centre for Judges and Lawyers in Luxembourg specialises in the following types of activities tailor-made in consultation with the clients to meet their specific needs:

workshops combining problem-based learning and coaching sessions
study visits, either stand-alone or combined with training sessions on selected topics
tailor-made blended learning activities
initial training modules for judges, prosecutors and non-judge court staff of varying duration
training of trainers workshops, including development of training materials and manuals

Topically, the training activities of EIPA ECJL cover

EU (and EEA) institutional law
European administrative law and fundamental rights
European regulatory affairs, such as environmental, consumer protection, food safety, labour and social law
all areas of the EU Internal Market, including financial services, public procurement and competition law
European and international judicial cooperation in family, commercial and other civil matters as well as judicial and law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
the procedures of and how to litigate before the EU and EFTA Courts

The Centre also specialises in training and coaching activities aiming to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and to enhance the administration and quality of justice by identifying and sharing knowledge and practical experience in such as areas as

introduction of quality management in the justice sector
management of judicial institutions (courts, public prosecutor offices, judicial training institutions)
judicial training needs analysis and the evaluation of both the quality and effects of judicial training, etc.)
ethics and anti-corruption
public relations and communication policies and skills
introduction and use of e-justice tools

Current activities

EIPA annually implements between 600 and 700 training activities, which are attended by between 12 – 14.000 persons. Hereof, EIPA ECJL delivers between 110 and 130 training activities per year addressed to the afore-mentioned target groups.

Number of training activities (incl. initial training and study visits) in 2015 in total: 131

Activities for judges, public prosecutors and private practicing lawyers: 28
Activities for other legal professions, including non-judge court staff: 3
Activities for lawyers and others working in the public administration: 100

Number of participants in 2015 in total: 2423

Activities for judges, public prosecutors and private practicing lawyers: 375
Activities for other legal professions, including non-judge court staff: 26
Activities for lawyers working in the public administration: 2022

Average number of days per participant in 2015 in total: 2

Activities for judges, public prosecutors and private practicing lawyers: 2
Activities for other legal professions, including non-judge court staff: 4
Activities for lawyers working in the public administration: 2

The above statistics include initial training, continuous training, coaching activities and study visits as well as participants from within and outside of the EU, but they do not include figures related to the Centre’s Master programme. The figures moreover include both open enrolment activities and activities financed partially (e.g. through DG Justice action grants) and fully through contracts awarded to EIPA by EU and national institutions. They do not, however, include magistrates and lawyers trained under the EIPA-led Euromed Justice III project.

International partnerships/agreements

EIPA is part of the European Public Administration Network (EUPAN).

EIPA ECJL has entered bilateral cooperation agreements with national judicial training institutions in a number of EU Member States and candidate countries.

Through the years, EIPA has worked – and continues to work – on a project-by-project basis with the national judicial training institutions throughout Europe as well as with European-level associations for various legal professions, e.g. the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE), the European Chamber of Bailiffs (CEHJ) and the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).

History

EIPA was founded in 1981 as an autonomous non-profit foundation providing targeted training on European Integration issues addressing the needs of the national authorities (including the Judiciary) of the European Union's Member States and the European Institutions. Today, 22 EU Member States + Norway are members of EIPA.

In 1992, EIPA established its first antenna, the European Centre for Judges and Lawyers, in Luxembourg, with the specific objective of providing training for the Judiciary and public as well as private practicing lawyers on the interpretation and application of Community –now, EU law.

In 2012, EIPA’s European Centre for Judges and Lawyers adopted a targeted topical approach towards its main target groups. Specifically for members of the judiciary (incl. non-magistrate staff) as well as the other legal professions, the Centre’s activities focus on the provision of tailored and practice oriented training programmes as well as consultancy and coaching, which aim at disseminating not only knowledge, but also practical know-how and good practices as well as contributing to cross-border confidence building.

Contact details

EIPA Luxembourg – European Centre for Judges and Lawyers

2, circuit de la Foire Internationale, 1347 Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG

E-mail: info-lux@eipa.eu

Number of staff: 15

Legal status: Non-profit foundation