European Judicial Systems 2002

Facts and figures on the basis of a survey conducted in 40 Council of Europe Member States

Tasks of the CEPEJ

• ..to improve the efficiency and functioning of justice systems.. (statute, art. 1)

• ..to examine the results achieved by the different judicial systems..

• ..by using common statistical criteria and means of evaluation..

• ..to identify concrete ways to improve the measurement and functioning.. (statute, art.2)

Tasks of the CEPEJ (2)

• ..identifying and developing indicators..

• ..collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative data..

• ..defining measures and means of evaluation..

• ..drawing up reports, statistics..

40 contributing countries

Andorra

Armenia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

LiechtensteinMoldova

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovak Republic

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

FYROM

Turkey

Ukraine

Malta

England & Wales

SM-Serbia

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Andorra

Armenia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

LiechtensteinMoldova

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovak Republic

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

FYROM

Turkey

Ukraine

Malta

England & Wales

SM-Serbia

Northern Ireland

Scotland

A variety of systems..

• unified / centralised systems

• federalist / decentralised systems

• stable systems and systems in transition

A practical approach...

• A broad variety of subjects and little detail• Focus on what the systems have in

common: courts, judges, public prosecutors, lawyers and the public expenditure on the system

• No conceptual framework• Simple pictures and tables

Number of general jurisdiction 1st instance courts, per million inhabitants

19,910,6

12,2

13,1

5,3

10,28,9

14,7

15,615,3

1,210,0

8,8

8,410,2

14,7

18,5

35,7

10,920,1

28,023,4

18,2

5,2

14,9

10,9

27,8

12,8

22,0

35,7

15,12,6

13,4

16,9

29,5

8,1

11,2

22,5

53,8

18,4

18,0

19,910,6

12,2

13,1

5,3

10,28,9

14,7

15,615,3

1,210,0

8,8

8,410,2

14,7

18,5

35,7

10,920,1

28,023,4

18,2

5,2

14,9

10,9

27,8

12,8

22,0

35,7

15,12,6

13,4

16,9

29,5

8,1

11,2

22,5

53,8

18,4

18,0

judges per 20.000 inhabitantsAndorra

7,1 Lithuania 3,9

Armenia

1,1 Malta

1,8

Austria

4,3 Moldova

2,6

Azerbaijan

0,8 Netherlands

2,3

Bulgaria

4,0 Norway

2,9

Croatia

8,2 Poland

4,1

Czech Republic

5,3 Portugal

3,0

Denmark

1,4 Romania

3,4

Estonia

3,5 Russian Federation

2,4

Finland

3,4 Slovak Republic

4,6

France

2,1 Slovenia

7,9

FYROM

6,3 SM-Serbia

6,7

Georgia

1,4 Spain

2,0

Germany

5,1 Sweden

3,8

Hungary

5,4 Switzerland

2,6

Iceland

3,3 Turkey

1,5

Ireland

0,6 Ukraine

3,1

Italy

2,3 UK-England&Wales

0,8

Latvia

3,4 UK-Northern Ireland

0,7

Liechtenstein

16,5 UK-Scotland

0,9

public prosecutors per 20.000 inhabitants

Andorra 1,2 Liechtenstein 4,1

Armenia 2,4 Lithuania 5,0

Austria 0,5 Malta 0,3

Azerbaijan 2,4 Moldova 4,3

Bulgaria 2,8 Netherlands 0,7

Croatia 2,2 Norway 0,2

Czech Republic 2,1 Poland 2,9

Denmark 2,1 Portugal 2,3

Estonia 2,4 Romania 1,9

Finland 1,3 Slovak Republic 2,7

France 0,5 Slovenia 1,7

FYROM 1,9 SM-Serbia 1,9

Georgia 4,8 Spain 0,8

Germany 1,5 Sweden 1,5

Hungary 2,8 Switzerland 0,8

Iceland 2,4 Turkey 1,0

Italy 0,8 UK-England & Wales 0,9

Latvia 5,6 Ukraine 4,2

lawyers per 100.000 inhabitants

102

46

33

200

15

668

25

3282

77141

69

7253

29

117

66

8473

47 78225

157

159

68

80

33

61

6496

177

180

197

219

301

59

259

41

102

46

33

200

15

668

25

3282

77141

69

7253

29

117

66

8473

47 78225

157

159

68

80

33

61

6496

177

180

197

219

301

59

259

41

Expenditure on Courts & Legal Aid as a percentage of Public Expenditure

UK

-Eng

land

& W

ales

Den

mar

k

FY

RO

M

Irel

and

Geo

rgia

Tur

key

Aze

rbai

jan

Sw

eden

Net

herla

nds

Fin

land

Mol

dova

Italy

Fra

nce

Est

onia

Latv

ia

Arm

enia

Bul

garia

Cze

ch R

epub

lic

Hun

gary

Ger

man

y

Rus

sian

Fed

erat

ion

Ukr

aine

Aus

tria

Sw

itzer

land

Slo

vak

Rep

ublic

Por

tuga

l

Lith

uani

a

And

orra

Cro

atia

Liec

hten

stei

n

Rom

ania

Slo

veni

a

Pol

and

Nor

way

0,0%

0,5%

1,0%

1,5%

2,0%

2,5%

3,0%

courtbudget aidbudget

An approach directed at further improvement

• national reporters as ‘owners’ of the data provided; no changes without their consent

• transparency regarding the raw data used and their sources

• availability of data sets for further analysis and use in related research

Cost of the system

• the report focuses on public expenditure..

• ..although the systems vary in the way tasks have been allocated as public or private functions

• we can compare what states spend on justice..

• ..but we can not see what citizens really pay for justice

Public expenditure on courts and legal aid (in euro per inhabitant)

3,67

58,74

5,48

3,79

52,98

68,32

21,86

13,33

51,03

32,98

36,17

46,76

6,99

10,08

109,660,83

53,67

62,36

17,76

49,92

30,43

11,35

56,02

0,66

70,69

7,17

30,59 37,05

1,04

23,57

71,30

35,95

298,01

2,32

4,62

3,67

58,74

5,48

3,79

52,98

68,32

21,86

13,33

51,03

32,98

36,17

46,76

6,99

10,08

109,660,83

53,67

62,36

17,76

49,92

30,43

11,35

56,02

0,66

70,69

7,17

30,59 37,05

1,04

23,57

71,30

35,95

298,01

2,32

4,62

Costs of the system (2)

• Comparison of ‘real money’ spent becomes blurred by money exchange rates and inflation

• this problem is solved by developing ratio’s which have financial values in both numerator and denominator

Expenditure on Courts & Legal Aid as a percentage of Public Expenditure

UK

-Eng

land

& W

ales

Den

mar

k

FY

RO

M

Irel

and

Geo

rgia

Tur

key

Aze

rbai

jan

Sw

eden

Net

herla

nds

Fin

land

Mol

dova

Italy

Fra

nce

Est

onia

Latv

ia

Arm

enia

Bul

garia

Cze

ch R

epub

lic

Hun

gary

Ger

man

y

Rus

sian

Fed

erat

ion

Ukr

aine

Aus

tria

Sw

itzer

land

Slo

vak

Rep

ublic

Por

tuga

l

Lith

uani

a

And

orra

Cro

atia

Liec

hten

stei

n

Rom

ania

Slo

veni

a

Pol

and

Nor

way

0,0%

0,5%

1,0%

1,5%

2,0%

2,5%

3,0%

courtbudget aidbudget

Expenditure, per inhabitant, as a percentage of gross average salary

UK

-En

gla

nd

& W

ale

s

Aze

rba

ijan

Ire

lan

d

Tu

rke

y

No

rwa

y

Mo

ldo

va

Icela

nd

Ne

the

rla

nd

s

La

tvia

Fra

nce

Geo

rgia

Fin

lan

d

Arm

en

ia

Ukr

ain

e

Sw

itze

rlan

d

Sw

ed

en

Germ

an

y

Bu

lga

ria

Lith

ua

nia

Ro

ma

nia

Est

on

ia

Po

lan

d

Slo

vak

Re

pu

blic

An

do

rra

Au

stri

a

Cro

atia

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Lie

chte

nst

ein

Slo

ven

ia

Hu

ng

ary

Po

rtu

ga

l

SM

-Se

rbia

0,0%

0,2%

0,4%

0,6%

0,8%

1,0%

courtbudget aidbudget

Legal aid expenditure

• expenditure: the total amount of money paid to parties (or their representatives)

• expenditure on criminal and non-criminal cases

• average amount of money granted (per case)

• criteria used to decide on granting / refusing legal aid

• who decides?

More on money...

Included:

• court fees

• reimbursement of legal costs (by losing party)

Excluded:

• costs of lawyers (and other professional assistance)

The Judiciary

and the Courts

Courts

• Number of courts

• general jurisdiction and specialised courts

• Court size related to the number of inhabitants served by one court

• Court size related to the number of judges and staff working at one court

General jurisdiction 1st instance courts, per million inhabitants

19,910,6

12,2

13,1

5,3

10,28,9

14,7

15,615,3

1,210,0

8,8

8,410,2

14,7

18,5

35,7

10,920,1

28,023,4

18,2

5,2

14,9

10,9

27,8

12,8

22,0

35,7

15,12,6

13,4

16,9

29,5

8,1

11,2

22,5

53,8

18,4

18,0

19,910,6

12,2

13,1

5,3

10,28,9

14,7

15,615,3

1,210,0

8,8

8,410,2

14,7

18,5

35,7

10,920,1

28,023,4

18,2

5,2

14,9

10,9

27,8

12,8

22,0

35,7

15,12,6

13,4

16,9

29,5

8,1

11,2

22,5

53,8

18,4

18,0

inhabitants served by the average general jurisdiction 1st instance court

Ne

the

rla

nd

s

Be

lgiu

m

Ma

lta

Arm

en

ia

Ro

ma

nia

Cze

ch

Re

pu

blic

Po

lan

d

Esto

nia

Ge

rma

ny

Slo

va

k R

ep

ub

lic

Aze

rba

ijan

Sw

ed

en

Fra

nce

Hu

ng

ary

UK

-En

gla

nd

& W

ale

s

Fin

lan

d

Ire

lan

d

UK

-No

rth

ern

Ire

lan

d

FY

RO

M

La

tvia

Mo

ldo

va

An

do

rra

Ukra

ine

De

nm

ark

Lith

ua

nia

Ge

org

ia

Ru

ssia

n F

ed

era

tio

n

Ita

ly

SM

-Se

rbia

Bu

lga

ria

No

rwa

y

Au

str

ia

Po

rtu

ga

l

UK

-Sco

tla

nd

Cro

atia

Ice

lan

d

Slo

ve

nia

Lie

ch

ten

ste

in

Sw

itze

rla

nd

Tu

rke

y

Sp

ain

0

200.000

400.000

600.000

800.000

1.000.000

1st instance courts, general and specialised, per 1 million inhabitants

Spa

in

Tu

rkey

Cro

atia

Sw

itzerl

and

Icela

nd

Port

uga

l

Malta

Slo

ve

nia

UK

-Scotlan

d

Norw

ay

Austr

ia

Fra

nce

Ita

ly

SM

-Se

rbia

Bulg

ari

a

Lithu

ania

Geo

rgia

Ukra

ine

Denm

ark

Mold

ova

And

orr

a

La

tvia

UK

-Nort

hern

Ire

lan

d

Germ

an

y

Fin

land

Hung

ary

Ire

lan

d

Sw

ede

n

Azerb

aija

n

Esto

nia

Slo

va

k R

epub

lic

Pola

nd

Cze

ch

Re

pu

blic

Rom

ania

Arm

enia

Neth

erla

nd

s0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Judges and court staff

• professional judges

• non-professional judges (not as a main job, lay judges)

• court staff

Courtsize related to employees

• 1,2 (Turkey) to 64,6 (Netherlands) fte of professional judges per court

• 2,8 (Iceland) to 179,1 (Netherlands) fte of court staff per court

• 0,7 (Iceland) to 10,7 (Malta) fte of staff per judge

Judges’ salaries• salary of a judge at the start of his/her

carreer

• salary of the highest judge / supreme court judge

• ratio judges’ salary / average salary

• judges’ salary compared to the public prosecutors salary

More on judges...

• selection and nomination of judges

• annual percentage of continuous training

• allowance of other activities / sidelines

• complaints procedures, time limits

• disciplinary proceedings, sanctions

• supervising the courts

Court performance

• number of incoming cases

• appeal percentages

• case processing time

Comparing performance by type of case

criminal & non-criminal cases

4 specific types of cases:

- robbery cases

- homicide cases

- divorce cases

- employment dismissal cases

Switzerland

Latvia

Hungary

Bulgaria

Portugal

Turkey

Belgium

Germany

France

Netherlands

Finland

Poland

Czechia

Estonia

Serbia

Norway

UK-England&Wales

Austria

Ireland

Slovakia

Romania

Sweden

Iceland

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

average length in days of robbery cases untill appellate judgement average length in days of robbery cases untill first instance judgement

Slovak Republic

SM-Serbia

Czech Republic

*

*

*

*

*

NetherlandsCzech Republic

FranceFinland

SM-SerbiaIcelandLatvia

TurkeyGermanySwedenBulgaria

UK-England & Wales

0 100 200 300 400 500

*

Robbery cases, average length in appeal

Portugal

France

Estonia

Hungary

Germany

Czechia

Austria

Poland

Missing

Italy

Iceland

Norway

Sweden

Bulgaria

Finland

Latvia

Switzerland

Slovakia

Slovenia

Turkey

Serbia

Denmark

Netherlands

Romania

0 200 400 600 800

average length in days of divorce cases untill appellate judgement average length in days of divorce cases untill first instance judgement

SM-Serbia

Czech Republic

Slovak Republic

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Spain

Germany

Italy

Norway

Latvia

Estonia

Finland

SM-Serbia

Bulgaria

Denmark

France

Turkey

Romania

0 100 200 300 400 500

**

Divorce cases, average length in appeal

Italy

Slovenia

Latvia

France

Hungary

Estonia

Portugal

Finland

Austria

Iceland

Bulgaria

Serbia

Czechia

Turkey

Poland

Missing

Netherlands

Romania

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

average length in days of dismissal cases untill appellate judgement

average length in days of dismissal cases untill first instance judgement

SM-Serbia

Czech Republic

Spain

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Italy

Czech Republic

FinlandFrance

Latvia

Slovak Republic

Bulgaria

Estonia

SM-Serbia

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

*

*

*

Employment dismissal cases, average length in appeal

Public Prosecutors

Public prosecutors per million inhabitants

12

73

65

118

120120

282

251105

3774

145

105135

216

139

48

13827

83 11240

16

60

27

94

97

41

113

45

118

207

211

242

38

93

190

12

73

65

118

120120

282

251105

3774

145

105135

216

139

48

13827

83 11240

16

60

27

94

97

41

113

45

118

207

211

242

38

93

190

Expenditure on the public prosecution, percentage of total public expenditure

FY

RO

M

Fin

land

Irela

nd

Sw

eden

UK

-Engla

nd &

Wale

s

Norw

ay

Andorr

a

Port

ugal

Cze

ch R

epublic

Georg

ia

Est

onia

Italy

Fra

nce

Cro

atia

Lie

chte

nst

ein

Slo

venia

Slo

vak

Repub

lic

Hung

ary

Neth

erlands

Ukr

ain

e

SM

-Serb

ia

Bulg

aria

Arm

enia

Mold

ova

Latv

ia

Russ

ian F

edera

tion

Pola

nd

Lith

uania

Rom

ania

Aze

rba

ijan

0,0%

0,2%

0,4%

0,6%

0,8%

1,0%

1,2%

Expenditure on public prosecution, per inhabitant, % of gross average salaryN

orw

ay

Icel

and

Fin

land

Ire

lan

d

And

orra

UK

-En

glan

d &

Wal

es

Sw

ede

n

Fra

nce

Slo

veni

a

Cro

atia

Liec

hte

nste

in

Net

her

land

s

Ukr

ain

e

Geo

rgia

Est

onia

Mol

dov

a

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Slo

vak

Re

pub

lic

Pol

and

SM

-Se

rbia

Por

tuga

l

Latv

ia

Arm

eni

a

Rom

ania

Bul

gari

a

Lith

uan

ia

Aze

rba

ijan

Hun

gar

y

0,0%

0,0%

0,1%

0,2%

0,2%

More on public prosecutors..

• salary• who recruits?• continuation training• allowance for sidelines• supervision on the public prosecution• disciplinary proceedings and sanctions• convictions and acquittals• cases charged and cases dropped

0

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

5.000

6.000

7.000

8.000

9.000

10.000

Aze

rbai

jan

Ukr

aine

Geo

rgia

Irel

and

Arm

enia

Rom

ania

SM

-Ser

bia

Mal

ta

Bul

garia

Slo

vak

Rep

ublic

FY

RO

M

Mol

dova

Latv

ia

Cro

atia

Slo

veni

a

Por

tuga

l

Aus

tria

Italy

UK

-Sco

tland

Pol

and

Hun

gary

Spa

in

Fra

nce

Tur

key

And

orra

Fin

land

Net

herla

nds

Sw

eden

Icel

and

Nor

way

Ger

man

y

Den

mar

k

Liec

hten

stei

n

cases received by the public prosecutor cases charged before the court

Caseload public prosecuters office (per 100.000 inh)

Legal Professionals

• Lawyers

• Bailiffs

• Mediators

lawyers per 100.000 inhabitants

102

46

33

200

15

668

25

3282

77141

69

7253

29

117

66

8473

47 78225

157

159

68

80

33

61

6496

177

180

197

219

301

59

259

41

102

46

33

200

15

668

25

3282

77141

69

7253

29

117

66

8473

47 78225

157

159

68

80

33

61

6496

177

180

197

219

301

59

259

41

More on lawyers..

• Who sets quality standards? (legislator / bar association)

• Disciplinary proceedings and sanctions

Bailiffs / civil enforcement officers

• type(s) of officer(s)

• who supervises civil enforcement officers?

• Disciplinary proceedings and sanctions

Mediators

• number of registered mediators

• public budget for mediation