In September, wants to submit to the EU Commission for the first time, a comprehensive report on the rule of law in all member countries. Both Ursula von der Leyen, the German presidency of the Council insist. These reports could be the basis for payments from the EU to stop the budget, if a country has serious and persistent deficits. How exactly is that supposed to happen, and it is currently still. On Friday, the Commission laid the Foundation for the rule of law report – with the so-called Justice scoreboard, a comparative study of the legal systems in all member countries.
Thomas Gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, Nato and the Benelux countries, based in Brussels.
F. A. Z.
Three factors are considered: efficiency, quality and independence of the judiciary. The data come from the year 2019 and are set in a ratio to the previous surveys, the in 2012. Efficiency is measured, for example, how long the court procedures take, how many procedures are completed in a year and how big is the backlog of cases. Here, the positive Trend in almost all countries has also claims in the previous year.
For Germany, however, no so good image, especially in the administrative courts. It takes a relatively long time until the procedures are completed, more than 400 days. Germany has the second highest number of new procedures (to Sweden) and pending proceedings (after Greece). The reason for this is obvious: the Overloading of the courts with asylum decisions. The number of judges, however, have changed little in the past few years, it is 24 per 100,000 inhabitants in the European midfield. In twelve EU member States, there are more. Nevertheless, Germany stands at the expenses of his justice in Europe, second only to Luxembourg, you are even higher. This information, the Commission entered under the factor of quality.
Efficiency and quality of the judicial system alone will not tell much from
of Course, efficiency and quality from say, taken by itself, little is known about how it is the rule of law in a country ordered. Hungary performs according to these criteria very well; nowhere administrative courts judgments faster. Nevertheless, the EU is running against the country-a process for the Review of the rule of law. Grossly misleading, the picture would therefore be without the third factor, the independence of the judiciary. The Commission collects through representative surveys of how citizens perceive their legal system.
on The other, it also includes information on who is to appoint prosecutors and judges, or for disciplinary proceedings. While most States have increased since the year 2012 in terms of efficiency and quality, the picture darkened at the time of independence. Compared with 2018, is decreased in eleven member States, at least in the eyes of their respective citizens. The justice Commissioner, Didier Reynders, the in conversation with the FA.Z. the fact that “politicians and governments to exert influence on the courts or pressure on them”. “When we see that citizens trust their legal system fully, we have to deal with this Problem,” says Reynders.
the perceived independence of the courts in Denmark, Austria, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany – so it’s a appreciate at least three-quarters of respondents to a new Eurobarometer survey. Less than half say the same in Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Croatia, which the final is only 20 percent light. A similar picture emerged in a survey of companies on behalf of the World Economic Forum. As Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia, ended up on the last places. It is also noteworthy that Poland is the only EU state in which the Minister of justice at the same time, the Prosecutor’s office headed; on top of that, he may give instructions for individual procedures.
