Proposal for a Council Regulation extending the programme of incentives and exchanges for legal practitioners in the area of civil law (Grotius - civil)
Date: 2000-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, civil law, exchange of information, judicial cooperation

C 365 E/262

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19.12.2000

Proposal for a Council Regulation extending the programme of incentives and exchanges for legal
practitioners in the area of civil law (Grotius-civil)

(2000/C 365 E/21)

COM(2000) 516 final (cid:16) 2000/0220(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 6 September 2000)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 61(c) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Whereas:

(Grotius) (1), on the basis of

(1) On 28 October 1996 the Council adopted the Joint Action
on a programme of
incentives and exchanges for legal
practitioners
the former
Article K.3 of
the Treaty on European Union. This
to facilitate judicial cooperation
programme sets out
between Member States by fostering mutual knowledge of
legal and judicial systems. It provides funding for training,
exchange and work-experience programmes, organisation
of meetings, studies and research, and the distribution of
information. It is aimed at legal practitioners.

(2) The Grotius programme was

set up for

the period
for
1996-2000. The annual programme and the call
applications for the last year of the Grotius programme,
as established by the Joint Action of 28 October 1996,
were published in January 2000 (2). The two annual
reports from the Commission to the European Parliament
and the Council drawn up so far on implementation of the
Grotius programme (3) demonstrate its
importance in
strengthening judicial
cooperation. Legal practitioners
should be able to continue receiving assistance under this
programme.

(3) The Grotius programme is concerned with judicial coop-
eration in the areas of both civil and criminal law. Judicial
cooperation in the area of civil law, which was one of the
areas of common interest referred to in the former Article
K.1 of the Treaty on European Union, is now covered by
the Treaty establishing the European
Article 61 of
the Grotius programme
Community. Those aspects of

(1) OJ L 287, 8.11.1996, p. 3.
(2) OJ C 12, 15.1.2000, p. 17.
(3) Reports on the implementation of the Grotius, Sherlock, Stop and

Oisin programmes (SEC(98) 1048 and SEC(99) 1955)

law
relating to judicial cooperation in the area of civil
therefore now fall within the scope of Article 61 of the
Treaty establishing the European Community.
Judicial
cooperation in the area of criminal
law, which was one
of the areas of common interest referred to in the former
is now
Article K.1 of
covered by Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union.
Those aspects of the Grotius programme relating to judicial
cooperation in the area of criminal law therefore now fall
within the scope of Article 29 of the Treaty on European
Union. This Regulation does not cover that area.

the Treaty on European Union,

(4) The Commission is considering the future of the part of
the Grotius programme concerned with judicial coop-
eration in the area of civil
law (<Grotius-civil=). This
analysis
focuses particularly on relations between this
programme and other funding programmes, namely the
programmes
Robert
connected with the creation of an area of
freedom,
security and justice, related to Title IV of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community or Title VI of the Treaty
on European Union.

project (4),

Schuman

and

the

(5) Pending the conclusion of this analysis, legal practitioners
should be able to continue receiving financial support from
the European Community for
initiatives designed to
facilitate judicial cooperation between Member States by
fostering mutual knowledge of legal and judicial systems.
The Grotius-civil programme should therefore be extended
to cover the year 2001.

(6) This Regulation establishes a financial framework for the
duration of the programme, which constitutes the prime
reference for the budgetary authority within the meaning
of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May
1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and
the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement
of the budgetary procedure (5),

(4) The Robert Schuman project

is a financial support

instrument
created in 1998 (Decision of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 22 June 1998 establishing an action programme to
improve awareness of Community law within the legal professions,
OJ L 196, 14.7.1998, p. 24) for a period of three years, with the aim
of encouraging and supporting initiatives in the area of training and
information designed to raise awareness of Community law among
members of the legal professions involved in the administration of
justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers in the Member
States.

(5) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

19.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 365 E/263

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 2

Article 1

Those aspects of
the Grotius programme which relate to
judicial cooperation in the area of civil law shall be extended
to cover the year 2001. The programme was established by the
Joint Action 96/636/JHA, adopted by the Council on 28
October 1996 on the basis of the former Article K.3 of the
Treaty on European Union, establishing a programme of
incentives and exchanges for legal practitioners (Grotius).

The provisions of
the Joint Action in question relating in
particular to procedural matters shall continue to apply to
the implementation of this programme in 2001.

The financial
framework for
programme in 2001 shall be EUR 650 000.

the implementation of

the

This appropriation shall be established by the budgetary
authority within the limit of the financial perspective.

Article 3

The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and
the Council on the implementation of the programme at the
end of the 2001 budgetary year.

Article 4

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publi-
cation in the Official Journal of the European Communities.