The first meeting of the Regional Steering Group of the project on regional dialogue on judicial reform in the EaP countries, took place in Strasbourg on 11 September 2015

The Regional Steering Group, gathering representatives from judiciaries, ministries of justice and bar associations of Eastern Partnership countries, dedicated its first meeting to agreeing on its work plan and selecting the most challenging issues to be examined under the project in view of identifying best practices and elaborating recommendations to reinforce the national reform processes.

Three Working Groups were established and tasked to examine, with the support of experts, issues related to the following three topics: judicial ethics and disciplinary liability of judges, with a focus on their distinctions and interrelations; e-justice, in particular aspects of electronic case management; and legal aid schemes, with special attention to ways to ensure independence of legal aid financed lawyers.

Other areas of shared interest perceived as most challenging by participants and selected for further analysis include: independence of judges; selection, evaluation and promotion of judges; the role of Courts of Cassation/Supreme Courts; ways to ensure inclusive and transparent judicial reforms; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, with a focus on criminal restorative justice and mediation in civil cases; equality of arms between lawyers and prosecutors.

The Working Groups will hold their first meetings in November-December 2015.