13 March, 2024
From March 11 to 12, the Supreme Court of Latvia hosted a meeting of representatives of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) member states, within the framework of which the strengthening of the attractiveness of the judicial career was discussed.
During the meeting, representatives of the Judicial Council of Ukraine informed the ENCJ members about the situation regarding the number of judges and the filling of judicial vacancies in Ukraine, as well as the changes made in the selection procedure of judges. The representatives of the Judicial Council of Ukraine emphasized that currently approximately 34% of judicial vacancies in Ukraine are not filled, which negatively affects the functioning of the judicial system.
The Lithuanian expert informed the participants of the meeting about the main work organizational conditions that determine the attractiveness of the judicial career. Moreover, the representatives of the ENCJ member states discussed the reasons that create a positive working environment. There was an analysis of basic principles for determining judges' remuneration, as well as of aspects of remuneration competitiveness in different countries.
This was the second face-to-face meeting of representatives of the ENCJ member states within the framework of the project on strengthening the professional attractiveness of the judicial career. The purpose of the said ENCJ project is to develop good practice guidelines for strengthening the attractiveness of the judicial career, as Latvia and most other ENCJ member states face certain difficulties in attracting the best lawyers to the judicial position. The guidelines are planned to be approved at the ENCJ General Assembly, which will take place from June 12 to 14 in Rome (Italy). Aigars Strupišs, the Chair of the Judicial Council of Latvia, together with a representative of the Council of Justice of Belgium, are the coordinators of this project.
Representatives of the Judicial Councils of Latvia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Ireland, Great Britain, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Ukraine, Hungary, Germany and Sweden participated in the discussion.
Additional information:
The ENCJ unites the national institutions in the member states of the European Union which are independent of the executive and legislature. The purpose of the establishment of ENCJ is to promote the cooperation of the Judicial Councils of the EU member states, the mutual exchange of experience and the analysis of shared information. Judicial Council of Latvia has been a member of the ENCJ since 2011. More information about the ENCJ is available here.