Procedure is to justice what the backbone is to man. Without it the body cannot stand. Procedure, whether civil, criminal or administrative, determines the rules of the case by determining how it is conducted. Without procedure, the process would be anarchic. Repeated reproaches made against procedure concern its duration, sluggishness and lack of adaptation to the information and communication technologies. These reproaches are no doubt partially justified, but it is above all the use – the poor use – and the misuse of the procedure by certain legal professionals that lead to the delays observed.
Publications
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It is the FIRST TIME that a Research Report offers an overview of the current situation in the ENPI South region as well as a comparative review of national experiences in the field of resolution of cross-border family conflicts. The background model of reference is that of The Hague conventions and the Malta process. Not because of hegemonic reasons, but rather because it provides a standard to test various definitions and regulations.
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The following series of questions on the different aspects of access to justice and legal aid, presented under five headings, is one way of introducing the methodology used in preparing this handbook, although these questions address substance rather more than structure and content. The aim is to provide a global idea on the subject and to coordinate best practices with the different aspects of access to justice and legal aid. Those practices that are the object of this handbook have been described by a group of legal professionals from the ENPI countries of the southern Mediterranean delegated officially by the ministries of justice in their respective countries, during five meetings lasting three days that provided the substance of the handbook.
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As in other areas of public administration, justice is also faced by the challenge of the new technologies. The organisational revolution that assumes the application of ICT in any sector has major repercussions when analysing the world of justice. The impact of the new technologies affects both material means and the human resources working in the public service of justice. Besides this, it also affects all professionals whatever their relationship with the administration of justice, and, of course, it affects the final user of justice, that is, the public.
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1. Each year, thousands of children are affected by cross-border family disputes. It is not rare for disputes surrounding parental separation or divorce to result in situations that threaten children’s rights to maintaining personal relations and direct contact with both their parents. State borders can in such cases add an additional and sometimes invincible layer of obstacles hindering the resolution of the dispute. While parents are drawn into lengthy, exhausting and costly battles over custody and contact, which often weigh heavily on the extended families on both sides, children suffer from the harmful effects of the conflict that sometimes accompany them for a large part or all of their childhood.
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The Euromed Fiches
The tool developed by the European Judicial Network, the Fiches belges, represents a milestone in the framework of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.