European Union Law for Judges

Since 2017, we have worked with partners across the region, including the Association of Croatian Judges and the Polish Judges Association „Iustitia,“ on programs for judges from across EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe. These events focus on the implementation of both civil and criminal aspects of recent EU legal norms to ensure judges are familiar with them, have access to relevant case law, and are equipped to apply them across the region.

Since late 2022, we have also been working with judges and civil society organizations to strengthen public trust in the judiciary by presenting best practices developed and used in EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe. As part of this project, we have organized workshops to examine rule of law challenges and remedies across the region, either in specific sessions for judges or in collaboration with civil society actors, including sessions aiming to improve European courts' communications and help judges tell their stories more convincingly.

Moreover and with EU funding as well, the CEELI Institute partners with civil society organizations and universities in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia to implement the INNOCENT project in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on the procedural rights of persons suspected or accused of a crime—in particular their right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty—and how to protect these rights with the increasing use of electronic evidence. Cooperating with judges and law professionals in the region, we aim to design guidelines and policy recommendations at the EU level.