The 8th Meeting of the Presidents of Courts of Appeal of the European Union (EU) was held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, between 12-14 June 2024. Mr Hakan Bulut and Mr Mehmet Emre Sarıyıldız, Rapporteur Judges, attended the meeting on behalf of the Council within the framework of the invitation letter sent to the Council.
The Meetings of the Presidents of the Courts of Appeal of the European Union are held biannually and these programmes, which include high-level presentations, address topics including the rights and freedoms of judges, digitalisation of courts, artificial intelligence, court administration and international cooperation. The theme of the 8th Meeting, which was attended by approximately 50 representatives from European countries, was "Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, Digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence and Justice in the Judicial System" and current developments on important issues such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, court management and international cooperation in judicial systems in EU countries were discussed. The meeting was held in a round table format in the "Constantin Stere" Hall at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest.
The event, organised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice, was attended by country representatives as well as speakers from the European Court of Human Rights, the Consultative Council of European Judges and other important judicial bodies. The opening speeches were delivered by some outstanding figures from the Romanian judiciary and justice system.
During the meeting, the representatives of our Council made contacts with the representatives of other countries, particularly with the host country Romania, and in this context, provided the interlocutors with some information about the structure of our Council, the current number of judges and prosecutors, the activities of the courts of appeal, and detailed statistical information on the courts of appeal. Also, as a result of the bilateral contacts established during the meeting, it was agreed to hold official contacts between our Council and the Romanian Supreme Judicial Council (Consiliul Superior al Magistraturii) in order to increase bilateral co-operation.
At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted a resolution on the establishment of the EU Network of Presidents of Courts of Appeal designed as a forum to ensure solidarity, exchange of professional information and co-operation on judicial matters between the judicial representatives of the European Union and other countries sharing the same values.
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