Application of EU law: European Commission adopts a Communication setting a target of training half of all legal professionals by 2020 | Practical Law

Application of EU law: European Commission adopts a Communication setting a target of training half of all legal professionals by 2020 | Practical Law

On 13 September 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication setting a target of training 700,000 legal professionals in the application of EU law by 2020. (free access)

Application of EU law: European Commission adopts a Communication setting a target of training half of all legal professionals by 2020

by PLC EU
Published on 15 Sep 2011 • European Union
On 13 September 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication setting a target of training 700,000 legal professionals in the application of EU law by 2020. (free access)
On 13 September 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication which aims to ensure that half of all legal practitioners in the EU participate in European judicial training at local, national or European level by 2020. This sets a target of training approximately 700,000 judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other legal practitioners on the application of EU law. The Commission has set a further target of ensuring that all legal practitioners benefit from at least one week's training in EU law during their career.
According to the Commission, the objective is to ensure that legal practitioners can correctly apply EU law, which forms part of their role as judges and lawyers at national level. Furthermore, it will help to build mutual trust between the EU's different legal systems and improve the implementation of EU legislation. To achieve this objective, the Commission has called on national governments, councils for the judiciary, professional bodies and judicial training institutions to commit to integrating EU law into their training programmes and to increasing the volume of courses and participants.
European judicial training will cover EU legislation, including substantive and procedural law, together with the corresponding case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as knowledge of national judicial systems.
In addition to the European judicial training, the Commission intends to:
  • Facilitate access to EU funding to support training projects, including e-learning.
  • Launch a two-week exchange programme for new judges and prosecutors from 2014.
  • Support training through the European e-Justice Portal and by sharing guidelines on training methodologies and evaluation.
  • Encourage public-private partnerships to develop innovative training solutions.
  • Build on the strengths of existing training providers.
Background: Judicial training is a national responsibility, as highlighted in a Council Resolution on the training of judges, prosecutors and judicial staff in the EU in 2008. However, former European Commissioner Mario Monti's Report from 9 May 2010 highlighted training judges and legal practitioners on the application of EU law as one of the key recommendations for action. The Stockholm Programme was endorsed by national governments in December 2009, and outlines measures to create a single area of justice in the EU. It called for EU action to support national training efforts as well as developing EU level training mechanisms. Furthermore, the European Parliament has consistently emphasised that judicial training contributes towards improving the operation of the internal market and makes it easier for citizens to exercise their rights.
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