Cologne 2 June 2023: Revisiting the consensus conference – Find an expert II project
The consensus conference of the Find an Expert II project was held at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne on 2 June 2023 in the presence of Dr Bernd Scheiff, President of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, “a fervent supporter of international exchanges and European cooperation”.
The aim of the day was to present the results of the work carried out between March 2022 and May 2023 by work packages 2, 3 and 4 at a public meeting.
Opening speech by Dr Bernd Scheiff, President of the Cologne Higher Regional Court
Opening speech by Wolfgang Jacobs, German lawyer, project leader
Wolfgang Jacobs recalls the objectives of the European project Findex 2, organized by the European Expert and Expertise Institute (EEEI) and EuroExpert, the European Organisation for Expert associations, at the Higher Regional Court in Cologne: to establish the legal and professional foundations for the creation of a European directory of judicial experts. “This directory will be useful not only for the cooperation between courts and other judicial institutions in the European countries, but will also enable private consumers and anyone involved in legal and economic activities to find qualified experts.”
Presentation of the different work packages
The various work packages are then presented by their managers.
Work package 2
Work Package 2 focuses on the convergence of national registers of experts. It comprises 3 working groups:
- WP2 – WG1 – Definition of criteria for legal experts, led by Verena Wirwohl
- WP2 – WG2 – Definition of standards to be met by bodies in charge of Expert directories, led by Rafa Orellana de Castro
- WP2 – WG3 – Requirements for experts to be registered in and stay on a directory, led by Benoit de Clerck and Sascha Dalen Gilhuijs.
WP2-WG1 Definition of criteria for legal experts
by Verena Wirwohl, German lawyer, WG1 leader, and Nico Keijser, Dutch, secretary of the LRGD Board, project participant and vice-president of the EEEI.
Presentation
Questions and discussion
WP2-WG2 Definition of the criteria to be met by the bodies responsible for the lists of experts: who are they? And what are their roles?
by Rafa Orellana de Castro (remote), Spanish lawyer and judicial expert, WG2 leader and Sacha Dalen Gilhuijs, Director of Stab, project participant and current General Secretary of the EEEI.
Speech by Béatrice Deshayes, french lawyer, co-manager of the project
Find an Expert I presentation and results
WP2-WG3 – Assessing whether requirements are met
by Benoit de Clerck, French expert, co-leader of WG3 and current co-president of the EEEI and Danijela Ilic, Serbian expert, project participant.
Discussion
Work package 3
Work package 3 is focused on the convergence of Member States’ nomenclature of expert specialities. This should lead to the definition of a process enabling the existence and maintenance of a common nomenclature of areas of expertise in the European Union. It is led by Jan Wannenmacher and Bertrand Ludes.
Nomenclature Convergence
by Jan Van Wannenmacher, Austrian judge, co-leader of WP3 and Bertrand Ludes, French forensic medical expert, co-leader of WP3 and President of the CNCEJ.
Work Package 4
Work package 4 is responsible for creating a demonstration IT tool for the six pilot Member States (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, and Romania). The aim is to interconnect the national register and set up a European search engine for judicial experts. Additional work is underway to ensure the sustainability of the tool and the project. The project is led by Pawel Rybicki and Jean-Raymond Lemaire.
Presentation of WP4 work – IT tool
by Pawel Rybicki, Polish, Chairman of the Board of EFIC, co-leader of WP4 and Jean-Raymond Lemaire, French expert, co-leader of WP4, founding chairman of the EEEI, project leader
Next future steps
Presentation by Bernhard Floter, German, EuroExpert’s General Secretary, co-manager of the project
The jury introduces itself
The conference was made in the presence of the members of the jury. The jury, made up of various players from the judicial world, is tasked with drafting recommendations based on the output produced by work packages 2 and 3. These recommendations will also be bases on the experience of each of the members of the jury, ensuring that they are compatible with the practical realities.
Closing speech by Alain Pilette
Deputy Director Justice, DG JAI Justice and Home Affairs at Council of the European Union
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