The Chairman of the High Council of Justice, Hryhorii Usyk, attended the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary at the invitation of Madeleine Mathieu, President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, and Aigars Strupišs, President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia.
The topic of the ENCJ General Assembly 2025 meeting, “Confronting Threats to the Rule of Law” was chosen in light of the increasing number and diversity of challenges facing Members and Observers of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary in the context of the rule of law and judicial independence.
In their opening speeches, President of the ENCJ, Ms. Madeleine Mathieu and President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia, Mr. Aigars Strupišs, noted that the event provided an excellent opportunity for an open and frank discussion on the challenges faced by the judiciary and finding ways to strengthen the resilience of these bodies.
The opening plenary session was addressed by Mr. Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Ms. Leonie Reynolds, President of the Consultative Council of the European Judges (CCJE), representatives of the European Association of Judges and the European Association of Councils of State and Superior Administrative Jurisdictions.
Two honoured guest speakers, Professor Hans Petter Graver from the University of Oslo and Andris Piebalgs, also shared their thoughts on threats to the rule of law.
The results of the ENCJ's work in 2025 were also presented, in particular, presentation of the results 2024/2025 on: Survey on the Independence of Judges; Project Independence, Accountability and Quality of the Judiciary; ENCJ Digital Justice Forum; ENCJ Project on Media and Judiciary.
Further discussion continued within thematic sub-groups.
Following the meeting of the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, participants adopted Riga Declaration, the preamble of which states that the rule of law is essential for upholding the fundamental values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and human rights (Article 2 of the TEU) on which the European Union is founded. Observing the rule of law requires all public powers to act in accordance with these values, and within the constraints set out by law.
The text of Riga Declaration will be published on the ENCJ website www.encj.eu
For reference. The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary is an international not-for-profit association which has as its aim the improvement of cooperation between, and good mutual understanding amongst, the Councils for the Judiciary and the members of the judiciary of both the European Union Member States and of any European Union candidate Member States. The High Council of Justice granted observer status in the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary in 2023. This year, the participation of the Chairman of the High Council of Justice in the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary was facilitated by the European Union Project “Support to Justice Sector Reforms in Ukraine (Pravo-Justice III)”.