Proposal for a Council Decision on a Joint Action adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on a programme of incentives and exchanges for practitioners in the Justice area

(96/C 236/06)

COM(96) 253 final - 96/0146(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 31 May 1996)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles K.3 (2) (b) and K.8 (2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas the Member States consider the strengthening of judicial cooperation to be a matter of common interest;

Whereas setting up a framework for projects of training, information, studies and exchanges for law enforcement officers will contribute to improving the mutual understanding of legal and judicial systems of the Member States, to highlighting their points of convergence and to lowering the barriers to judicial cooperation between Member States;

Whereas these objectives can be more effectively realized at the Union level than at the level of each Member State, because of the expected economies of scale and the cumulative effects of the projects envisaged;

Whereas this joint action is without prejudice to the Community's powers in the field of vocational training and does not therefore adversely affect the Community measures taken to implement its policy in that field, or the Leonardo da Vinci Programme in particular;

Whereas this joint action does not affect the existing rules of procedure in the field of judicial cooperation,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

1. A programme for law enforcement officers, to be known as 'Grotius`, is hereby established for the period 1996 to 2000, in order to foster mutual knowledge of legal and judicial systems, and to facilitate judicial cooperation between Member States.

2. For the purposes of joint action, 'practitioners in the Justice area` means judges (including liaison, contact and other judges), advocates, bailiffs, notaries/solicitors, researchers, investigators, ministry officials, court interpreters and other court officials.

3. The programme shall comprise the following:

- training,

- exchange and work-experience programmes,

- organization of meetings,

- studies and research,

- distribution of information.

Article 2

Projects with the following objectives may be considered under 'training`:

- fostering of foreign language knowledge, in particular a working knowledge of legal language,

- knowledge of the legal institutions and procedures of the other Member States, and how they function,

- exchange of experience between those responsible for the training of legal practitioners, and between institutions responsible for basic training and those responsible for continuing training,

- preparation of teaching modules for training projects, of exchanges and internships, of conferences, or of seminars organized as part of the implementation of this programme.

Article 3

Projects with the following objectives may be considered under 'exchange and work-experience placement programmes`:

- organization of work experience of limited duration in the legal institutions or with legal practitioners in Member States other than that of origin,

- organization of visits to legal institutions or to legal practitioners in a number of other Member States on specific themes.

Article 4

Projects with the following objectives may be considered under 'organization of meetings`:

- organization of bilateral or European conferences on legal topics of general interest,

- organization of multidisciplinary conferences on topical or new legal subjects relating to judicial cooperation,

- organization of seminars based around case studies on sentencing, in the course of which judges from different Member States deliver a verdict on the same court case.

Article 5

Projects with the following objectives may be considered under 'studies and research`:

- preparatory analysis of subjects chosen for projects to be implemented within the framework of this programme,

- analysis of reports on work experience or meetings organized within the framework of this programme,

- coordination of research on topics relating to judicial cooperation.

Article 6

Projects with the following objectives may be considered under 'distribution of information`:

- hard-copy or on-line distribution of information on legislative amendments or draft reforms, in the original or in translation,

- dissemination of information on projects under Articles 2, 3 and 4, the results of meetings under Article 4 or the findings of research carried out under Article 5 and the application of this research,

- creation of databases and/or documentation networks including lists of articles, publications, studies and legislation in fields relating to judicial cooperation.

Article 7

1. Projects financed by the Community must be of demonstrable European interest and involve more than one Member State.

2. The selection process projects for which finance is requested shall have regard, inter alia, to:

- the extent to which the subjects covered conform with work that is already in progress or planned for the future under the Council's action programmes in fields relating to judicial cooperation,

- the contribution to the elaboration or implementation of instruments under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union,

- the extent to which the different projects complement each other,

- the range of professions to which they are addressed,

- the involvement of institutions such as judicial training institutes and research institutes,

- the operational and practical nature of the projects,

- the degree of preparation of the participants,

- the possibility of using the results of the project to make further progress in judicial cooperation.

3. These projects may associate practitioners from the countries which have applied for membership or other non-member countries where this would contribute to their preparation for accession.

Article 8

The financing decisions and the contracts arising from them shall provide for monitoring and financial control by the Commission and audits by the Court of Auditors.

Article 9

1. All types of expenditure which are directly chargeable to the implementation of the project and which have been committed within a contractually agreed period shall be eligible.

2. The proportion of financial support from the Community budget shall not exceed 80 % of the cost of the project.

3. Translation and interpreting costs, computing costs, and expenditure on durables or consumables shall not be taken into consideration unless they are essential for the realization of the project, and shall only be financed up to a limit of 50 % of the grant or 80 % in cases where the nature of the project makes them indispensable.

4. Expenditure relating to premises, collective facilities, and the salaries of officials of the State and public bodies shall be eligible only if it corresponds to postings and tasks which have no national purpose or function but are specifically connected with the implementation of the project.

Article 10

1. The Commission shall be responsible for carrying out the measures provided for in this decision and shall adopt detailed rules for implementing this joint action, including the criteria for the eligibility of costs.

2. It shall draw up each year, with the assistance of experts from the relevant professional circles, the guidelines for the annual programme implementing this joint action in terms of the thematic priorities and the distribution of available appropriations between fields of activity.

3. It shall undertake each year an assessment of the measures implementing the programme for the previous year.

Article 11

1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee consisting of one representative from each Member State of the Union and chaired by the Commission.

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee proposals for implementing rules, for guidelines for the annual programme and for project assessment. The Committee shall deliver its opinion within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in the second paragraph of Article K.4 (3) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.

The Commission shall adopt measures which apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event the Commission may defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period not exceeding one month from the date of such communication.

The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit referred to in the previous subparagraph.

Article 12

1. From the second budgetary year onwards, projects for which financing is requested shall be submitted to the Commission for scrutiny before 31 March of the financial year to which they are to be charged.

2. The Commission shall examine the projects that are submitted to it with the assistance of the experts referred to in Article 10 (2).

3. Individual financing decisions shall be taken by the Commission, which shall inform accordingly the Committee referred to in Article 11 (1).

4. Where the financing requested exceeds ECU 100 000, the representative of the Commission shall submit a draft to the Committee referred to in Article 11 (1). The Committee shall deliver its opinion on this draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. If necessary, a vote will be taken within the Committee. The Chairman shall not vote.

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; furthermore, each Member State has the right to ask that its position be recorded in the minutes.

The Commission shall take full account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the Committee of how it has done so.

Article 13

1. Measures incorporated in the programme and financed by the budget of the Communities shall be managed by the Commission in conformity with the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2335/95 of 18 September 1995.

2. When presenting the financing proposals referred to in Article 12 and the assessments provided for by Article 10, the Commission shall take account of the principles of sound financial management and in particular of economy and cost-effectiveness as required by Article 2 of the Financial Regulation.

Article 14

Each year the Commission shall report to Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the programme. The first report shall be presented at the end of the 1996 budgetary year.

Article 15

This Joint Action shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

It shall have effect for a period of five years, at the end of which it may be extended.