Court coordinators in European law (CCEs) are national judges specialised in EU law. Their task is to facilitate the work of their colleagues in national courts to better understand and apply EU law when they come across a challenging case.
The following seven national CCE networks will participate in this project:
- Network of Judges-Coordinators on European Law in Bulgaria
- European Law Advisors’ Network (‘ELAN’) in Hungary
- Gaius in Italy
- Eurinfra in the Netherlands
- Coordinators for International Cooperation and Human Rights in Poland
- EuRoQuod in Romania
- European Network of Legal Experts (‘REDUE’) in Spain
- Communication Channel for Court Coordinators in European Law
It was established in 2010. At the beginning, the members of the network were 28 judges from the 28 district courts in the country, as well as 5 judges from the Courts of Appeal. Requirements to become a member of the network included in-depth knowledge of European law and case law of the CJEU, and proficiency in English. The main purpose of the network was to assist judges in adjudicating on EU law-related issues. Currently, the Institute of Justice (NIJ) judicial trainers-judges perform the function of CCEs on specific issues of substantive and procedural law. Some of them are members and contact points of the national judicial networks on international cooperation in criminal, civil and commercial matters.
ELAN was set up in 2013 by the National Office for the Judiciary with the aim of creating a specialised unit within the Hungarian court system that should be in charge of keeping a constant watch on, processing and acquiring a good knowledge of the ever-changing EU legislation and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as the case law of the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). ELAN has 98 members (judicial advisors). They must all be judges or assistant judges and are appointed for 3 years (renewable) based on calls for applications. They may be appointed from among judges and assistant judges at any instance in the court system, however, they are required to have at least one state language exam in one of the official languages of the EU other than their mother tongue and to have a thorough knowledge of European law. Judicial advisors continue to hear cases as judges, and they are assigned to a specific field of law within the network based on their earlier specialisation.
The High Council of the Judiciary introduced the figure of the European trainer in 2011, alongside magistrates specializing in criminal and civil law within the framework of decentralized training. This initiative is part of the European Gaius Project, aimed at strengthening the European legal culture among Italian magistrates through three main lines of action: the establishment of a trainer specialized in EU law, the expansion of European law training through both dedicated courses and its integration into national law courses, and the creation of an online platform for quick access to materials and European jurisprudence.
The Gaius network, composed of 50 part-time trainers on EU law, was established in April 2011 as part of this project, with three main objectives: the quantitative and qualitative improvement of EU law training, a strong emphasis on linguistic training, and better access to EU law sources and information on EU activities, as well as the widespread dissemination of training materials on EU law. The network is actively involved in organizing EJTN judicial exchanges in Italy and plays a key role in disseminating training materials and outputs developed by the EJTN at the decentralized level. Additionally, Gaius trainers contribute to various EU-funded judicial training projects in which the High School for the Judiciary (SSM) participates.
Recognized by the European Parliament as a best practice, the Gaius Project addresses the need for judicial training focused on understanding EU legal instruments, improving language skills, and deepening knowledge of different national legal systems. The High School for the Judiciary has aligned itself with these objectives by fully integrating European trainers into its study programs, funding decentralized training, promoting language courses, and opening participation to foreign magistrates.
The role of European trainers extends beyond the mere organization of study sessions on transnational legal issues. They collaborate with district trainers to integrate EU law into national law courses, facilitate access to European jurisprudential sources through digital tools, and enhance knowledge dissemination through mailing lists and online forums. Furthermore, they provide guidance and support to magistrates in understanding and applying EU law and act as contact points for international exchange programs. They are also responsible for promoting foreign language studies, which are essential for a judiciary increasingly embedded in a supranational legal context.
Judicial training efforts are not limited to EU law but also encompass international law, comparative law, and judicial cooperation regulations, aiming to equip magistrates with the necessary tools to operate effectively in an increasingly interconnected legal environment.
The Eurinfra project was launched in 2000 with the objective of improving knowledge of European law within the Dutch judiciary. The main objectives were to improve accessibility to sources of information related to European law through web technology, improve knowledge of European law among Dutch judges, and support, establish and maintain a network of court coordinators in European law. The network of CCEs was established and its members started their work, helping colleagues who were confronted with cases in which European law had to be applied. Currently, there are 39 CCEs: every court has one or more CCE.
Presentation of the Dutch Eurinfra (February 2024)
Didine van Waesberghe
This was created in all judicial regions of the country in 2017 and they are appointed separately for civil and criminal matters. All in all, this represents a total of 90 coordinators appointed by regional court presidents from among judges, court assessors and court legal secretaries of a given regional or district court, distinguished by their knowledge of international cooperation, European law, human rights and foreign language skills. The mandate of the coordinators covers both the regional court and district courts in their jurisdiction. Their tasks include, among other things, informing judges, court assessors, court legal secretaries and judges' assistants on the current case law of international bodies (including the ECtHR in Strasbourg) and helping them in seeking information on standards arising from the ECHR and EU law, and assisting in applying European law especially in international cooperation, as well as human rights law.
The project was launched in 2012 by the Romanian National Institute of Magistracy (NIM), which drew its inspiration from the Dutch and Italian networks. The central coordinator of the network is a full time NIM trainer, specialised in EU law, whose role is to assist the court coordinators in their activity. The network’s website (www.euroquod.ro) was created on a voluntary basis by its central coordinator, and contains three sections: one dedicated to the network, another for preliminary references, and a section dedicated to specific areas of law where EU law is applicable. EuRoQuod is currently composed of 59 court coordinators, appointed on a voluntary basis, who are willing to acquire knowledge and to share their experience with their colleagues, without being relieved of their duties. The network includes judges who deal with cases where EU law is applicable, irrespective of the branch of law. The final goal is to develop a network of judges acting as court coordinators from each court in the country and from all levels of jurisdiction. One of the network’s goals has always been to strengthen cooperation with other national networks of court coordinators in EU law.
REDUE aims to provide all members of the Spanish judiciary with the appropriate support and information necessary in all matters relating to EU law. Members of the network carry out the following functions: (a) provide the Spanish courts and tribunals with all the necessary cooperation in the location, interpretation and application of EU law and CJEU case law with particular attention to the mechanism of preliminary rulings; (b) promote and participate in training activities on EU law and CJEU case law; (c) promote activities to encourage awareness and diffusion of EU law and CJEU case law.
In order to enable a direct communication among Court Coordinators in European Law from several Member States, there has been a dedicated email group established. If you would like to subscribe to it, please refer to your national judicial school for more details or to ERA (Karolina Rokicka).
Best practice of national networks of court coordinators in EU law – Summary of a session
Best practice of national networks of court coordinators in EU law: Presentation of existing networks of Court Coordinators in European Law (February 2024)