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ELI Updates Sept-Oct 2014 GREETINGS FROM JASNA OMEJEC, PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT, REPUBLIC OF CROATIA Dear ELI members, dear colleagues, It is a great pleasure to have been asked to open this month’s newsletter following the 2014 Projects Conference and General Assembly that was held in Zagreb. As President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia I am glad that the event was organised in Croatia, which made it possible for us to get better insight in activities of the European Law Institute (ELI). Let me first say that your success is remarkable, given that the ELI was founded only in 2011. I have learned about numerous projects that have contributed to the European legal development and strengthening the rule of law, like the project on the reform of Inside this issue: the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Your organisation is truly valuable in Zagreb 2014: A building the common European legal area, which is extremely important given that our continent is a mixture of different law systems, cultures and languages. Report•2 As a Constitutional Court judge from the youngest EU member state, I can testify to the Successful Launch of importance of every source or project aimed at integrating and aligning the Croatian the Croatian Hub•11 legal system with the European one. These are enormous challenges for us, which can be much more easily accomplished with the help of ELI projects and cooperation. Membership Milestone reached•13 As I said at the 2014 Projects Conference as a speaker on the Panel on the future of human rights litigation in Europe, Croatian citizens now live synchronously within New Institutional several different legal areas, each with their own fundamental rights catalogues. In this complex surrounding the Constitutional Court has played a crucial role in transposing the Observers•13 European legal standards into the domestic legal order, as the judge of the ECtHR from ELI Presented at Croatia has recently put it. I can only add that the Constitutional Court’s interpretation of constitutional norms in accordance with the European legal standards has been gradually UNCITRAL-New York promoting general criteria and guidelines for certain governmental actions. At the same State Bar Association time, it has contributed to what is called the “constitutionalisation of legal mind-set”. But Event•14 we can always do better! To that end, I welcome every ELI project aimed at raising our capacity for building a democratic society based on the rule of law and, especially, the 2015 ELI Annual successful participation of the Croatian Constitutional Court in the European multi-level Conference•14 judicial cooperation. Diana Wallis speaks at I sincerely hope that Croatian legal professionals will find in the ELI an even stronger partner and I do wish you all the best in all future endeavours. As the President of the Humboldt University, Constitutional Court of Croatia I can say that our Court is always open for new ideas Berlin•15 and an exchange of experiences that can help us reach the European level of legal development. However, this can be a two-way street. Maybe our experience can enrich ELI Represented at LJD ELI’s comparative knowledge, its genuine pan-European perspective and help it to further Week•15 improve the quality of law in Europe. In that light we are examining the possibility of becoming an ELI Institutional Observer and encourage also other regional Constitutional Upcoming Events•15 Courts to follow. Sincerely yours, Professor Jasna Omejec Page 2 ELI Updates Projects Conference and GA 2014: A Report On 24 September, the 2014 ELI annual event officially began with an opening ceremony at the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. After a welcome address by ELI President Diana Wallis, Prof. Hrvoje Sikirić, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb, welcomed the guests in the name of his Faculty, which co-hosted the Projects Conference and the General Assembly 2014. Prof. Sikirić outlined the Faculty’s vision to remain the leading institution for higher education and research in the region by enhancing its presence on the international stage and fostering participation in projects related to higher education and research in the area of European law. Prof. Sikirić also highlighted the important role played by the Law Faculty in Croatia’s recent accession to the European Union. Forty-five of its professors acted as members of various Croatian government Diana Wallis (centre) was joined at the opening ceremony by Dean of teams during the accession the University of Zagreb Law Faculty Prof. Hrvoje Sikirić (left) and Deputy negotiations. As a result, Prof. Minister of Justice Sandra Artuković-Kunšt (right). © Stipo Vilić Sikirić considers the 2014 ELI conference to be a recognition of the Faculty's long lasting commitment to contribute to the introduction and implementation of European law. Following Prof. Sikirić's speech, Deputy Minister of Justice Sandra Artuković-Kunšt took the floor and highlighted the complexity of the previously mentioned negotiations between the European Union and Croatia; during the ten year alignment process, a total of 683 Croatian laws and about 1,500 bylaws were aligned with those of the EU. The Croatian accession to the EU marked the completion of one difficult process, but paved the way for another; the implementation of EU law in Croatia. This represents a continuous process and one which will require an exchange of knowledge and expertise amongst the The opening ceremony and conference were held in the historic entire legal community in Croatia and Croatian State Archives. © Stipo Vilić its counterpart in other EU states. In this respect Ms Artuković-Kunšt highlighted the value of the ELI and its diverse membership. She believes that ELI projects will stimulate the development of European law and help both the national states and the European Institutions to improve the current law and shape future legislation. The opening ceremony’s thought-provoking speeches and reception provided a fitting start to the two-day event which not only played host to many in-depth discussions but also gave participants an opportunity Page 3 ELI Updates to get to know each other in more informal settings. As well as the conference, participants were also treated to a gala dinner at the historic Gradska Kavana restaurant, kindly sponsored by three local law firms, Borić i Partneri, Glinska & Mišković and Zurić i Partneri. Moreover, attendees were given the opportunity to enjoy a traditional Croatian dinner complete with local musicians on the final evening of the Conference and General Assembly. Progress was also made on current projects at the MCC (Membership Consultative Committee) meetings, at which individual ELI members and representatives from our network of Institutional Observers were able to give feedback to the project reporters for the projects on administrative procedural law, criminal law and insolvency. Detailed reports on the Conference’s panel sessions and content of discussions at the General Assembly can be found on the following pages along with a selection of pictures of the event. Transcripts of some of the speeches and presentations are available on the ELI website. st 1 Panel Session: Collective Redress After months of hard work, the Project Team on Collective Redress issued an analysis - an ELI draft Statement - of the most controversial aspects of the Recommendation on collective redress and the Directive on competition damages claims. At this year’s Projects Conference a panel session provided an opportunity for the Project Team and other experts to describe and justify their initial analysis. Mark Clough QC, chair of the panel and the ELI Project Team, provided more details on the Statement. Referring to the Recommendation, he emphasised that it is not just an instrument about competition law but an instrument that enables collective actions to be brought to national courts by those who are harmed by any infringement of EU tort law. He From left to right: Yannis Avgerinos, Nicholas Forwood, Mark Clough, referred to many concrete aspects Georg Kodek, Filip Kubík. © Stipo Vilić of the Recommendation and of the Directive, such as collective alternative dispute resolution, opt-in and opt-out, and cross border collective redress cases. In this regard, the ELI Project Team supports the position of the European Commission, stating that Member States should be encouraged to recognise a representative body that has been authorised in one Member State in another. Yannis Avgerinos, a member of the ELI Project Team, focusing on the parts of the ELI draft Page 4 ELI Updates Statement which relate to the Directive, referred to disclosure of evidence, the effect of national decisions, passing on defence and funding. As regards funding, the ELI Project Team welcomes the existing funding programmes for training EU competition law for judges and it advises the Commission to consider the establishment of new funding programmes in EU competition law, which would be focused and specialised on this Directive. Mr Avgerinos stated that this would be extremely useful both for judges and also for other players of competition law. The floor was then given to Filip Kubík (DG Justice) who was involved in the process of drafting the recently approved Directive on competition damages claims. According to him, the Directive has two goals: to remove the obstacles to effective damages actions and to optimise the interplay between the damages actions and the public enforcement. He highlighted the difficulties faced by judges in estimating harm, and he reminded the participants that the Directive does not necessarily aim at creating more litigation, if compensation can be After the panelists presented their findings they responded to audience questions and achieved through out comments. © Stipo Vilić of court mechanisms.