Overall objective: Creating a fairer and more efficient Romanian judicial system in the context of the adoption of the New Codes

 

Specific objective: Increasing the capacity of the Romanian judiciary for a better implementation of the New Judicial Codes

 

Budget: 9.411.764 Euro (8.000.000 Euro Programme grant + 1.411.764 Euro representing the 15% national co-financing ensured by the Programme Operator – the Ministry of Justice).

 

Partners: The Norwegian Courts Administration and the Council of Europe

 

The Programme envisages the implementation of 3 pre-defined projects, as follows:

 

a) Predefined project Strengthening the capacity of the Romanian judicial system to face new legislative and institutional challenges

 

Components:

• Component 1 aims at contributing to the unification of the New Codes jurisprudence and to ensure the continuous training of the Romanian magistrates, clerks, judicial inspectors and other specialists on the following topics: the provisions of the New Codes, the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, court management, integrity, case and time management, judicial inspection specific management, as well as mediation (as alternative dispute resolution mechanism);

• Component 2 envisages the endowment with technical and IT equipment of the Superior Council of Magistracy, the National Institute of Magistracy, the National School of Clerks and of the Judicial Inspection, in order to support their specific activities, including those to be undertaken under the project. Also, the Public Ministry will be endowed with forensic equipment in order to increase the capacity of prosecutor's offices to investigate complex cases. Furthermore, the courts of law will be endowed with office equipment (office furniture sets, computers and printers).

 

Total estimated budget: 3.734.426 Euro (out of which 3.174.262,10 EURO Norway Grants).

Project Promoter: the Superior Council of Magistracy

Donor Project Partners: The Norwegian Courts Administration and the Council of Europe

b) Improvement of the Electronic Court Register Information System (ECRIS)

Components:

• The adaptation and modernisation of ECRIS in order to increase its efficiency and quality in view of the compliance with the current legislative and procedural framework (compliance with the new codes), increase of interconnection with other applications, optimisation of workflow and dataflow etc.

• The creation of an adequate supporting hardware infrastructure for the revamped ECRIS.

Total estimated budget: 4.016.162 EURO (out of which 3.413.738 EURO Norway grants)

Project Promoter: the Ministry of Justice

Donor Project Partners: The Norwegian Courts Administration and the Council of Europe

c) Improving access to justice. An integrated approach with a focus on Roma and other vulnerable groups.

Components:

• The access to justice of vulnerable groups of population, with a special focus on the Roma, assessed and recommendation for its improvement provided, by means of a feasibility study;

• Improving the access to justice through the setting up at the level of courts of 5 pilot legal assistance offices for Roma and other categories of vulnerable citizens and the organisation of an awareness campaign for the popularisation of the activity of the legal assistance offices and for increasing the knowledge of Roma population and other vulnerable groups on their legal rights;

• The training of magistrates and lawyers on antidiscrimination.

Total estimated budget: 941.177 Euro (out of which 800.000 EURO Norway Grants).

Project Promoter: the Superior Council of Magistracy

Donor Project Partners: The Norwegian Courts Administration and the Council of Europe