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Key Goals

1. Reinforcing the Rights of Citizens

Creating an area of freedom, security and justice, requires the protection of citizens and, in equal measure, securing citizens' rights.

So far, work in the area of justice has focused on adopting common measures in criminal law and strengthening judicial cooperation between Member States. The second aspect, protection of the right of citizens, is indispensably connected with the first, and includes the following areas:

Securing procedural rights in criminal proceedings

Mutual recognition of judicial decisions issued in criminal proceedings conducted in absentia is a case which brings together the need for improvement of judicial cooperation between the Member States in their fight against crime on the one hand, and the need for improvement of the course of conduct on the part of individuals concerning their rights within the EU on the other hand. The legislative acts adopted so far on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition have dealt with this issue in different ways, thus causing difficulties in their practical implementation and hindering the effective mutual cooperation. The respective unification of these acts would contribute to better implementation of the existing instruments, while at the same time establishing the guidelines for regulation of this issue in the instruments that are still to be adopted in this area. In order to settle the above issues, Slovenia prepared a legislative initiative, i.e. a proposal for Framework Decision on the enforcement of in absentia judgments, which intends to achieve proper progress by accelerated working on this dossier and thus contribute to the aim of sound and effective cooperation between the Member States in the area of criminal justice.

The scope of the proposal of the Framework Decision is limited to the definition of judgments issued in absentia, within the instruments of mutual recognition and does not aim at harmonizing the Member States' procedural provisions regulating this issue.

 

2. Increasing legal certainty for citizens and the business sector

A Europe of citizens

Our citizens expect to be able to move freely across the borders of the Member States on a daily-life basis within a secure and predictable legal framework. This encompasses an easier cross-border exercise of maintenance claims, clear rules regarding which law is applicable in divorce cases and improved consumer protection law.

Legal certainty and family law

The proposal for the Council Regulation on jurisdiction, the applicable law, recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions and cooperation in maintenance matters is of utmost importance for the EU citizens and their free movement. The number of marriages among the citizens of different countries has been increasing and so has the number of divorces, which is also demonstrated in the need for the maintenance of family members – i.e. the payment of maintenance obligations. By the enlargement of the European Union and the accession of new countries, the number of workers who work in other states, leaving behind their children, spouses and parents who urgently need the means of subsistence, has been growing. 

The adoption of the Regulation should provide a simpler enforcement of maintenance claims in cross-border cases and thus make life easier for the citizens (in particular the children), who now exercise their right to maintenance by the same method as any other claim on the basis of the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 (Brussels I). Similar issues were dealt with by the Hague Conference, which on 23 November 2007 offered to the countries worldwide the Convention on Maintenance and the Protocol on Applicable Law for signature. The level achieved within the European Union should be upgraded particularly by facilitating a rapid and simple procedure of enforcement of decisions on maintenance without recourse to any special proceedings relating to recognition and enforcement of foreign judicial decisions, i.e. by elimination of exequatur, to the widest possible circle of maintenance beneficiaries. 

The Slovenian Presidency is well aware of the importance of this comprehensive regulation, therefore it will seek to reach consent on all issues and conclude as many of its chapters as possible. 

The number of international marriages and divorces in the EU has been increasing. The Brussels IIa Regulation, adopted in 2003, determines international jurisdiction but does not determine the collision rules. Consequently the national collision rules are applied in order to determine the law under which the marriage is terminated. These, however, differ very much from Member State to Member State and it is difficult for the spouses to know which law will be applied in their divorce case. 

The proposal for a Council Regulation amending the Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 as regards jurisdiction and introducing rules applicable in divorce disputes (Rome III) brings rules on the law applicable in divorce. Moreover, it provides greater independence to the spouses who from then on will be able to agree on the court that will have jurisdiction in case of a potential divorce and on the law that will be applied.

Legal certainty and private law

In Member States, rules vary with regard to which law is applicable to a given international case. Plaintiffs can select the law most advantageous to them. The Slovenian Presidency will seek to harmonies the rules with regard to connecting factors. Our aim is that the same law is used in every court in the EU, so that every citizen and every company knows which legal regulations they will be subjected to, which is stipulated in the Regulation on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (Rome I Regulation).

 

3. Greater coherence in civil and criminal law

The Hague Programme calls for greater coherence in both civil and criminal law. Therefore, the Slovenian Presidency will particularly focus on a common reference framework for the European contract law.

 

4. Strengthening the justice system and practical cooperation

The Slovenian Presidency will seek to support initiatives aimed at improving practical cooperation between courts and judicial authorities, both with regard to criminal and civil law. 

Future of Eurojust

Judicial cooperation is being directed also at ensuring that the European Union has harmonized criminal policy in order to fight successfully against all forms of serious crime.

On 28 September 2002 the Council of the European Union adopted the Decision setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime in order to improve judicial cooperation between the Member States, in particular in the fight against serious crime. In pursuing its objectives, Eurojust can operate through one or more national members nominated by the Member States, or as a college composed of all national members, in compliance with the provisions of the Decision.

Despite the institution being young, certain deficiencies have already arisen in practice, restricting its optimal operation. The issues concerning the competencies of the national members of Eurojust, exchange of data between the national authorities and Eurojust and relationship with the European Judicial Network should be addressed as well.

Effective improvement of judicial cooperation between the EU Member States requires immediate adoption of structural measures at the European Union level, which will provide the best possible coordination in investigations and prosecutions of cross-border criminal acts along with due consideration of fundamental rights and freedoms. For this purpose, the operative function of Eurojust should be supplemented and brought closer to the competencies of the national members.

The future of Eurojust is closely connected with further development in the area of freedom, security and justice, because here it must preserve its key role in implementation of the European judicial cooperation in criminal matters and influence by way of practical work the further European criminal policy-making.

All the time, Slovenia has emphasized the great importance and merits of Eurojust in the fight against serious forms of international crime and will continue to support improvements on the basis of the gained experience.

Promoting electronic legal communication

The Work on E-Justice project is one of the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency. The purpose of the conference on the subject, which will be held in Slovenia, is to make practical progress with regard to the use of information technology in cross-border judicial procedures in Europe and to make the structure more in accordance with European standards. The Slovenian Presidency will focus on four priority areas: a European portal, the networking of registers, the European order of payment and videoconferences.

 

5. Protection of the environment through criminal law

Because of the importance of the environment protection, the Republic of Slovenia seeks to reach effective legislative solutions that would enhance its preservation. Individual Member States contribute to the protection of environment in different ways and the European Union considers it an area where high level of protection is to be ensured. Violations having cross-border impact can be successfully fought only at the EU level. Different approaches of individual Member States facilitate the abuse of regulations to the offenders of environmental legislation. The proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the environment through criminal law derives from the conviction that at the Community level, the criminal acts should be determined against which the same criminal law protection for the entire area of the Community would be provided. Within this framework, individual Member States will keep the competence to determine penal sanctions for thus harmonized definition of criminal acts. The Republic of Slovenia thus supports the earliest possible adoption of this Directive because by determining the criminal acts that will apply to all the Community, the present abuses made possible by the inconsistent criminal legislations of the Member States in the area of environment protection will be prevented.

 

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Date: 03.01.2008