Sofia, June 21, 2023
High Inspector of Justice Artur Metani was on a working visit to Sofia, Bulgaria, where he participated in the annual meeting of the European Network of Justice Inspection Services (RESIJ), part of which, with observer status, has been the Office of High Inspector of Justice since December 2021.
A comparative study report of the Inspection services of Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Albania, was presented in the first part of the meeting. The report was prepared on the field of control and administration of justice of each of the respective countries, with findings on similarities and differences, as well as cooperation, perspectives and priorities of RESIJ inside and outside the Network.
In the second part, the General Assembly of RESIJ made an assessment of the political, administrative and financial situation of the Network and approved changes to the Statute, related to the internal organization. At this meeting, the members elected the new president of RESIJ, Romania, which succeeded France, the founder and chair of the Network since the beginning
The new changes in the Statute were deemed by the members in their discussions, to help strengthening the structure of the European Network of Justice Inspection Services, as a promising mechanism for the development of European public evaluations or inspections on behalf of European and international bodies. Through the assessments, combining field approaches and comparative data, RESIJ has been able to position itself in the role of a trusted public third party. The activities carried out for five years now, on behalf of both the Commission of the European Union (DG Just – Department for Justice of the European Commission) and the Council of Europe (CEPEJ) are proof of this.
According to the principle of rotation among participating countries, the next RESIJ Assembly will be held in Tirana on December 14 – 15, 2023.
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During the working visit to Sofia, the High Inspector of Justice together with RESIJ colleagues participated in the conference organized on the 15th anniversary of the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council of Bulgaria, where local magistrates discussed the historical development, the enlargement of competences and the achievements as well as good practices of the Bulgarian Inspectorate, while other European magistrates presented models of justice inspection in their countries, different approaches but common rules, related to the methods of conducting inspections and assessing the skills and disciplinary responsibility of judges and prosecutors.
