ODIHR final report on the functioning of courts during the Covid 19 pandemic

The European Association of Judges (EAJ) has developed, in recent months, a close and fruitful cooperation with OSCE/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in order to produce a beneficial document regarding the functioning of courts during the Covid 19 pandemic.

The final purpose was, essentially, to provide an overview of challenges faced by courts during and in the aftermath of the pandemic, to reflect on emergency measures imposed during March and July 2020 and to offer some preliminary guidance also sharing the experiences and conclusions of judiciaries in different countries.

An advanced draft of this document, in the format of a meeting report, was  produced by OSCE/ODIHR and drew upon a multitude of online meetings and numerous bilateral conversations and correspondence, amended by comprehensive desk-based research.

As kindly recognized by OSCE/ODIHR, the European Association of Judges was a very active partner since the very beginning of the project providing its valuable know-how and expertise.

Taking in proper consideration the level of uncertainty experienced by all judiciaries in this times of pandemic and the urgent need of guidance – or, at least, of a more thorough and detailed knowledge about the responses of European judiciaries to this crisis –a draft report  was sent to all the EAJ members  in September.

While a final version of the meeting report  has now been finalized by ODIHR. Please find hereinafter the link to it:
https://www.osce.org/odihr/469170