The “Romanian Judges Forum” professional association

The “Romanian Judges Forum”
professional association

The „Romanian Judges Forum” professional association is a private legal person, an independent, not for profit, governmental and non-political professional association of judges in Romania, based in Slatina, Olt County, with legal personality acquired according to GO no. 26/2000 and established through resolution no. 671/8.06.2007 pronounced by the Tribunal of Slatina County, registered under no. 5/14.06.2007 in the register of associations and foundations, at the Registry of Court Slatina.

Initially, the association carried the name of „Forum of judges of Oltenia”, which was changed according to the irrevocable resolution no. 220/22.01.2010 issued by the Court of Slatina, in the case no. 577/311/2010.

The association has over 30 members and its work focuses mainly on scientific projects; it has a laptop and a multifunctional copier/printer, and a virtual discussion group – fjromania@yahoogroups.com.

In time, the „Romanian Judges Forum” professional association has concluded several cooperation agreements with the University of Bucharest Publishing House, the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELE) the „Academician Andrei Rădulescu” Institute of Legal of the Romanian Academy, the Association of European Magistrates for Human Rights, the Social Alternatives Association in Iasi and the Centre for Legal Studies in Moldova.

The Judges Forum review, published by the Romanian Judges Forum, was launched on April 1, 2009 and it has had an uninterrupted quarterly run (so far 10 numbers and 2 supplements have been issued).

The magazine works together with GEMME – European Group of Judges who Support Mediation (Groupement Européen des Magistrats pour la Médiation), National School of Magistracy (Ecole Nationale of Magistrates) in France, the Center for European Legal Studies, Institute of Legal Research of the Romanian Academy , the National Institute of Magistracy, the Supreme Council of Magistracy, MEDEL – Magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés, Social Alternatives Association in Iasi (which supported the project materially, on the release date).

The magazine published, inter alia, articles written especially by Romanian and foreign judges and prosecutors, but also by academics and other practitioners.

The three best papers published in the review in 2009 were: Cristina Ben Ezra – Comments on the formulation by Romania of a declaration on accepting the jurisdiction of the ECJ to give preliminary rulings under art. 35. para. 3 of TEU; Ionuţ Militaru, Dragoş Călin – Freedom of expression of the judiciary. Limitations and vulnerabilities; Joaquín Bayo-Delgado – Self-government in courts – hierarchical (vertical) model vs. democratic (horizontal) model. The Spanish model.

The three best papers published in the journal in 2010 are: Iolanda Agafiţei – Measures to protect children from the perspective of the European Court of Human Rights, Bogdan Alex Arghir – Right of access to justice in terms of recent changes on judicial stamp duties and Vasile Rotaru, Igor Dolea, Ion Creţu – Study on the complex analysis of legislative and institutional causes of condemnation of the Republic of Moldova by the European Court of Human Rights.

The Judges Forum review conducted several interviews with social and cultural personalities of the Romanian and international, with a view to finding the public perception of judges, how they should behave in various situations, all with the aim of finding themselves reflected, as a profession, in the expectations of others.

Given the upheaval of the values ​​related to the profession of judge (in the years after the coming to power of the communist regime, access and retention in this system was solely based on political criteria, and the adherence of the magistrate to the party was mandatory), which has even went to the subjugation of the judiciary to the executive power, the independence crises experienced by the system in the period after 1989, and the recent attempts to publicize the problems faced by the judiciary, created a controversial image of the judiciary, as members of this power, and as part of the part of society. The label of the entire professional body is now the one of a corrupt, incompetent, subdued body.

On the other hand, the power granted to a judge is such that one should be guaranteed the freedom of conscience and of law, linked with the guarantees of a solid legal background.

Against this background, judges Dragoş Călin, Ana-Maria Lucia Zaharia and Roxana Maria Lăcătuşu published the book „On Justice and judges. Interviews”.

The Judges Forum review conducted interviews with judges Gracieuse Lacoste, Irena Piotrowska and Miguel Carmona Ruano, members of the judicial councils of France, Poland and Spain.

Judgment pronounced by of the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris on December 3, 2008 in the case the Chancery of the University of Paris vs. Simone Baule (on the manuscripts of Emil Cioran) was published, for the first time in Romania, the issue 2/2010 of the magazine.

The decision of the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris on December 3, 2008, in the University of Paris Chancery versus Simone Baule (seeking concerning the Emil Cioran) was published, for the first time in Romania, the number 2/2010 of the magazine.

The website of the review – www.forumuljudecatorilor.ro includes abstracts of published articles, interviews and a discussion forum.

Following the previous evaluation, the journal was included in the category „D” – magazines registered with N.U.R.C. 2009 and in 2010 the category „C”.

In December 2010, the volume ”The Romanian Judges’ Forum Review from 2009 to 2010” was published, including relevant articles published in foreign languages ​​in the first eight issues in the Judges Forum review. Volume was distributed free to magistrates in France, USA, Russia, Moldova, Italy, Portugal and the states of South America.

Las but not least, we should note that some of the articles published in Forum Magazine Judges were subject to takeovers in the following foreign magazines:

2009	„Betrifft JUSTIZ” nr. 100 von Dezember 2009, Germania – Die mühsame Demokratisierung der rumänischen Justiz, ISSN 0179-2776
2010	Judicial Power Review no. 7-8/2010, Armenia – Indépendance de la magistrature et lutte contre la corruption, ISSN 1829-0744
2010	Judicial Power Review no. 7-8/2010, Armenia – The Evolution of the Judicial System in Romania during the Past 60 Years, ISSN 1829-0744
2010	Judicial Power Review nr. 1-2/2010, Armenia – Independence of Magistrates as a Guarantee to Reduce Political Corruption. Specifical Case of Prosecutors in Romania, ISSN 1829-0744
2010	Information Bulletin of the Association of Romanians in Australia no. 4/2010 – Interviews with Neagu Djuvara, Dan Culcer and Radu Negrescu-Sutu

The International Conference “Premières assises internationales de la médiation judiciaire. La médiation, langage universel de résolution des conflits”, held on October 16th-17th 2009 in Paris, Palais du Luxembourg, by Groupement Européen des Magistrats pour la Médiation – GEMME, in partnership with the European Commission, the French Ministry of Justice and Freedoms in France, the Court of Appeal in Paris and the Court of Appeal in Quebec, was the occasion for establishing the International Conference on Judicial Mediation.

The establishment of such international conference for ​​judicial mediation was the idea of GEMME, represented by Ms. Beatrice Brenneur, and a Canadian judge, Ms. Louise Otis. 250 judges, lawyers, mediators and academics from 27 countries attended.

Its purpose is promoting international mediation, conciliation and facilitation. It is made up of national and regional associations of judges and those who are employed, particularly as mediators, in judicial institutions or upon request of judicial institutions. Its headquarters is yet to be established.

The International Conference in October 2009 in Paris, which occasioned the establishment of CIMJ – La Conférence Internationale de Médiation pour la Justice, has featured Mr. Jacques Barrot, European Commissioner at the time and Mr. Ales Zalar, Slovenian Minister of Justice, who held a presentation of how mediation works in Slovenia.

The Romanian Judges Forum is a founding member (Paris, 2009) of CIMJ – The International Mediation Conférences pour la Justice – http://www.cimj.com/fr.

The Judges Forum journal is a traditional partner of the Centre for European Legal Studies attached to the Institute of Legal Research of the Romanian Academy (www.csde.ro) for conferences organized regularly at the Romanian Academy.

Since 2011, the Judicial Courier review, edited by CH Beck has an IADUER section; IADUER is the acronym for the project conducted by the Centre for European Legal Studies attached to the Institute of Legal Research of the Romanian Academy and the Romanian Judges Forum Association. The section includes cases which raise questions of EU law interpretation and application by the Romanian courts and is written ​​by lect. univ. Ph.D. Mihai Şandru, Mihai Banu and Dragoş Călin.

Beginning with the second half of 2011, the Bulletin of the Courts of Appeal, edited by CH Beck will include, for each number, a column written by the Romanian Judges Forum Association, including jurisprudence on judicial organization.

The Romanian Judges Forum Association has issued numerous opinions about current aspects of the judicial system in Romania, Italy and Serbia.

Various statements have been issued, views or legal opinions have been submitted to the Ombudsman, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Ministry of Justice, the Romanian Government and the Romanian Parliament (particularly in the debates on draft legislation).

Through the efforts of the RJF Association representatives, and several virtual discussion groups for Romanian and South-East European magistrates were created and are now in operation – forumuljudecatorilor@yahoogroups.com (general forum, with over 2,000 Romanian magistrates), mediation, mediere-fjr@yahoogroups.com (specialized forum for discussions on mediation), revista-rfj@yahoogroups.com (the discussion group of the Judges Forum review), easterneuropejustice@yahoogroups.com (general forum for magistrates in South-Eastern Europe).

Further on, the Romanian Judges Forum Association intends to be actively involved in the transformations required by the Romanian justice, both through its own efforts but also through a an authentic collaboration with other professional associations of judges and civil society.

Judge Dragoş Călin,

Court of Appeal of Bucharest,

President of the

Romanian Judges Forum Association

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