The Supreme Court Remained Actively Involved in the Work of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the EU in 2024
The Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union has published its Annual Report 2024, providing an overview of its activities and specific developments over the past year. Founded in 2004 during the EU’s historically biggest enlargement, the Network is one of the key international platforms in which the Czech Supreme Court is engaged. It brings together the Presidents of the Supreme Courts of all 27 EU Member States, as well as those from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and the United Kingdom as associate members, and from Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine as observers – representing a total of 35 countries.
As the report shows, our Supreme Court was again actively involved in the Network’s work – both through our President, who also serves as the Network’s Vice-President, and through daily cooperation within the Comparative Law Working Group (also known as Law Liaison Group), in which the Supreme Court participates via its Department of Analytics and Comparative Law.
The report highlights, among other things, the annual Conference of the Network held in Athens in 2024. The working sessions focused on the influence of European law on supreme courts and on the attractiveness of the judiciary as a career path. The topic of attractiveness – particularly in relation to the remuneration of administrative staff – proved to be especially thought-provoking. At the initiative of the President of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic Angyalossy, the President of the Supreme Court of Lithuania Bublienė, and the President of the Supreme Court of Slovenia Đorđević, a comparative study was conducted based on a questionnaire prepared by our Supreme Court’s Department of Analytics and Comparative Law. The findings revealed among others that the Czech court employees receive lower financial compensation even compared to countries whose judicial systems do not reach the Czech Republic’s efficiency and performance.
The Annual Report also recalls the exchange programme for supreme court judges, through which 22 judges from various countries gained new experience in 2024. The Czech Supreme Court sent judge Pavel Horák on an exchange programme to the Netherlands, while judge Yuliya Chernyak of the Supreme Court of Ukraine completed her exchange programme at the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic.
Attention is also given to the activities of the Comparative Law Working Group, which operates under the auspices of the Network since 2014 and of which the Czech Supreme Court was a founding member. The Group includes legal experts not only from the Czech Republic but also from the supreme courts of Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to exchange information on legislation and case law in areas addressed by the courts in their decision-making. Communication takes place via the Network’s intranet forum, where 42 questions were discussed in 2024 – 11 of which were submitted by our Department of Analytics and Comparative Law, which also responded to 28 questions. Three questions were directed at specific countries only.
Among the civil law topics discussed with foreign colleagues were, for example, whether the lost profits that result from illegal activities are legally protected, and therefore whether they should be compensated by the State. Another question concerned the recognition of insolvency proceedings opened in another Member State and how other Supreme Courts view the possibility to refuse recognition of such proceedings on public policy grounds under Articles 33 or 26 of Regulation 2015/848 on Insolvency Proceedings. These examples demonstrate that the outcomes of this platform have a direct impact on the Czech Supreme Court’s decision-making.
In 2024, the Comparative Law Working Group also held its annual meeting in Helsinki. Discussions focused on best practices for working at a Supreme Court, the admission of evidence obtained from encrypted communications in drug trafficking cases, and the participation in a trial via video. Our Supreme Court was represented at this meeting by the Head of the Office of the President Aleš Pavel, and by the members of the Department of Analytics and Comparative Law Anna Čermáková, Lívia Ivánková, and Patrik Provazník.
The Annual Report clearly shows that the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is actively engaged in the work of the Network and makes full use of all available opportunities not only to strengthen relationships with European partners but also to enhance its everyday decision-making practice.
The whole Annual Report is available here.
Department of Analytics and Comparative Law