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[MUSIC]
>> Welcome to Understanding Europe.
We are very excited to work with
you on this interesting and important policy matter.
Our main goal is to create awareness about the lack of transparency
in judicial appointments for the European Court of Justice, or the ECJ.
We need to make sure that judicial appointments
are not influenced by political considerations or interest groups,
and that these judges are competent and experienced enough
to make quality decisions regarding important areas of law.
We want to hear input from you in
order to complement our research and advocacy work.
>> Let us explain the importance of transparency in European Union
law generally, outlining the role of transparency in the EU legal framework.
We'll invite you to submit ideas, comments, and suggestions to us.
We need you.
First, the Lisbon Treaty codifies the
principle of transparency in European Union law.
It requires citizens to actively demand information from a given institution.
That means you.
This statute made the principle of
openness a judicially enforceable legal principle.
Moreover, citizens should actively engage this process.
And we are demanding that the European Commission provide access to
these documents in a manner that is understandable to lay people.
Another instrumental piece of legislation provides that any citizen
has a right of access to documents of the institutions.
Finally, a recent
court decision by the European Court of Justice supports citizen's rights
to documents held by itself in the exercise of its administrative functions.
Although the term administrative has not yet been defined, we feel this
decision supports the need for greater
transparency in the judicial appointments process.
What are we asking for?
The European Court of Justice consists of 28 judges, one judge per EU country.
Each judge is appointed for a renewable term of six years.
The governments of the EU countries must agree on whom they want to appoint.
A panel comprised of representatives of the EU
must write an opinion on a judicial candidate's suitability
to be an ECJ judge and then present
this opinion to the governments of the EU countries.
No particular appointment process is applied at the national level.
Before rendering its opinion,
this panel can request national recommendations, opinions
and assessments which can obviously be very influential.
They go through the candidates CVs, interview them, check their EU
capabilities, and give an opinion which is not open to the public.
We are seeking this opinion.
Transparency is our goal. Who are we asking?
We have submitted a request to the
panel selecting judges and are awaiting it's response.
However, we expect that our request will be rejected.
If so, we will file a complaint to the European Union Ombudsman.
We want your ideas and voices to be heard so
that our complaint will have more traction with the Ombudsman.
Why are we asking?
Citizens of the European Union have the right to
know what is going on with respect to the judiciary.
This is an essential component of participatory democracy.
In turn,
we will address the importance
of legitimacy, accountability, openness and confidence.
>> The legal and normative framework of the European Union rests
on participation of informed citizens. Without
this information, the democratic process is undermined.
Without knowing why these judges were selected,
we can't verify the legitimacy of
the European Court of Justice, an institution
that purports to act publicly and impartially.
Nor will we be able to verify that these
judges are competent and have the experience necessary
to make influential decisions that affect all of us.
>> Along the same lines, accountability is a bedrock principle of democracy.
If judges or member states who choose these judges are not accountable for their
decisions, citizens will not be able to
effect change within those decision making bodies.
>> You deserve an impartial judiciary.
If citizens perceive judges as biased or corrupt it undermines
confidence in the European Court of Justice, a central EU institution.
>> At this point, we hope you understand how this issue affects you.
In the next few weeks we hope to hear your
voice on how to affect change in the judicial appointment process.
Join us on our exciting journey in creating a better European Union for all.
>> [BLANK_AUDIO]