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Judicial Exchange programme- This programme is a pilot project created at the demand of the European Parliament to develop exchanges between judges and prosecutors within the European Union in order to facilitate direct contact between judicial authorities and to develop mutual confidence.
The "exchange programme for judicial authorities" is a pilot project created by the European Parliament for 2004 and 2005. It has three main objectives with its primary goal being the promotion of exchanges between judges and prosecutors within the European Union in order to develop mutual confidence. This will consequently facilitate the implementation of the principle of direct contact between judicial authorities, which is asserted in most of the EU instruments on judicial co-operation. A further objective is an increase in the level of knowledge of EU instruments on civil and criminal justice to ensure their proper implementation in Member States. Finally the programme seeks to develop regular contact between those officials responsible for judicial training institutions in Member States and candidate countries. The exchange programme for judicial authorities will support projects associating a minimum of 4 partners from at least 3 Member States.
This page gives a general presentation in three parts:
I) Latest developments
II) General context
The pilot project is based on Article 49(2) of Council Regulation n° 1605/2002 of 25 June on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002 p1) the "exchange programme for judicial authorities" and as such needs no specific legal basis. The 2005 work programme 
(PDF File 1,43 MB) was adopted by a decision of the Commission.
The budget of the "exchange programme for judicial authorities" is 3 million Euros in 2005.
What is the purpose of the Judicial Exchange programme?
- To develop exchanges between members of the judiciary in order to enhance the level of mutual confidence and to facilitate mutual recognition of decisions within the European Union.
- To increase members of the judiciary's knowledge of EU instruments on judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters by developing e-learning tools.
- To develop contacts and networking between national institutions in charge of training of members of the judiciary.
How is this to be achieved?
- Exchanges of judges or prosecutors, based on individualised training schemes
- E-learning instruments to increase knowledge of EU instruments in criminal and civil matters
- Meetings of officials responsible for training institutions.
Who can benefit from Judicial Exchange programme funding?
The judicial exchange programme is aimed at:
- Current and future members of the judicial authorities of Member States and candidate countries
- Current and future prosecutors of Member States and candidate countries
What are the conditions for applying?
The application conditions are described in the call for proposal [142 KB].
Who can apply?
Public or private institutions and bodies, including professional organisations of judges and prosecutors, non governmental organisations, associations, training or research institutions from Members States, with specific abilities in the concerned area. They should have legal capacity. Initiatives by private individuals are not eligible for the programme.
Projects should be proposed by a minimum of 4 promoters established in at least 3 Member States.
A maximum of 80 % of the project can be co-financed.
How to apply?
Attention: Deadline for submitting applications: 01 July 2005 (postmark)
Organisations wishing to apply for funding should download from this site the application form, the budget form, the financial identification, the legal entities form and the guide for applicants (see right menu of this page).
The Commission will inform all applicants in writing of the decision taken on their application by 15th September 2005 at the latest.
| Attention : |
Promoters shall be particularly careful to fill in the forms accurately and to accompany their answers with ALL the required documents. |
For more information on the Judicial Exchange programme:
Secretary of the programme e-mail: jls-echanges-magistrats@ec.europa.eu