EEEI, represented by its President Etienne Claes and its Founding and Honorary President Jean-Raymond Lemaire, participated in the 45th plenary meeting of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council of Europe on 4 and 5 December 2025 at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg.
New roadmap
The CEPEJ adopted its programme of activities for 2026–2027 and an ambitious roadmap, the Valletta Action Plan for 2026–2029, aimed at strengthening the rule of law and citizens’ confidence in justice.
The mandates of the working groups on the evaluation of judicial systems, the quality of justice and e-justice have been renewed. The SATURN Group, dedicated to judicial time management, has seen its remit expanded with the creation of a group dedicated to the efficiency of judicial procedures, with a view to reducing delays and improving the flow of cases.
Several innovative tools have been adopted: a case weighting mechanism to assess workload, guidelines on the use of generative AI in courts, a checklist to improve access to justice, and a guide on the participation of children in family mediation. These instruments reflect a strong commitment to making justice more accessible and tailored to users’ needs.
The CEPEJ also presented the reform of its assessment grid to obtain more recent data. The next report assessing European judicial systems will be published in December 2026. Finally, the meeting highlighted the initiatives awarded the 2025 Crystal Balance prize, including the Schuldenfunctionaris/Debt Officer project in the Netherlands, as well as two special mentions in Belgium and Spain.
By adopting these measures, the CEPEJ confirms its leading role in promoting a more effective, innovative and citizen-centred European justice system. The EEEI’s proposals regarding the revision of the guidelines on judicial expertise and the analysis of the multiple impacts of AI for judicial experts have been incorporated into the CEPEJ 2026–2029 Action Plan and will be implemented in the working groups’ activities starting in 2026.
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