This was announced by the Member of the High Council of Justice Oksana Blazhivska, who represented Ukraine at the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary united in Athens.
Following its meeting in Athens the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary adopted the Athens Declaration on Judicial Solidarity in Times of Crisis. The Declaration sets out what judicial solidarity entails and which actions could be taken to support the endangered judiciary.
The document also proposes to focus on the promoting of public understanding of and respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. A proactive attitude of the judiciary itself is indispensable for the benefit of all citizens of Europe.
As stated in the Declaration, solidarity entails an understanding that assistance should be offered within the European Judicial community in response to attacks on judicial independence and the rule of law. If a national judiciary is under significant pressure from governmental or other domestic actors, international support is critical.
“The ENCJ believes that cooperation between judiciaries and judges in Europe assists in a growing social cohesion between judiciaries which enables them to unite in solidarity,” the Declaration said.
Oksana Blazhivska also spoke about the initiatives marked by the ENCJ. In particular, the ENCJ Award for Positive Change in 2022 was received by representatives of the Council of Justice of the Netherlands for the “Fire Brigade” Project created to relieve judges in courts. The ENCJ Award recognizes the most innovative and most recently implemented practice/concept in a country.
A member of the HCJ also reported on personnel changes in the leadership of the Network. At the meeting of the General Assembly, a new President of the ENCJ was elected. That person became the member of the Judicial Council of Lithuania Dalia Vasarienė. She will serve as the President of the ENCJ from 1 December 2022. The powers of the current President Filippo Donati have been extended until November 30, 2022.
Oksana Blazhivska expressed hope for a long and fruitful cooperation between the High Council of Justice and representatives of the Judicial Councils of the Network at the bilateral level to establish closer contacts by concluding memorandums of cooperation and their further implementation in practical terms.
As it was reported, in response to the appeal of the HCJ, the ENCJ adopted statement on March 3, 2022, which strongly condemned the severe breach of the international law and aggressive act of war committed by the russian federation against Ukraine and demonstrated solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the judiciary of our state.