A1262151909naXzj

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I. The Project

1. PROJECT OUTLINE
2. PROJECT DESIGNED FROM A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
3. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
4. SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION

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1. Project Outline
The Judicial School of the Spanish General
Council of the Judiciary is a member of the
European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). With
financial support from the European Commission,
it offers an e-learning course for European
judges on Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters.
The course is delivered in four languages
(Spanish, English, French and German) by teachers
(judges and university lecturers) from six EU
countries. In its five editions, over 300 judges
from 16 EU countries have taken part.
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2. Project designed from a European perspective

• The course has been designed as an international
  and European project
• 1.- in terms of the course contents (the European
  Judicial Area in civil and commercial matters)
• 2.- in academic design, the target recipients and
  its implementation in four EU languages Spanish,
  English, French and German.

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3. Institutional Framework
3. Institutional Framework (1)

• Although the project has been the initiative of
  the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary,
  other European institutions have also
  collaborated.
• It is delivered within the framework of the EJTN
  (European Judicial Training Network)

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3. Institutional Framework (2)

• Other institutions taking part in the project in
  addition to the Judicial School of the General
  Council of the Judiciary are the Centre for Legal
  Studies, a Spanish entity, and also from the
  initial stage
• High Council of Justice (Belgium)
• Centro de Estudos Judiciários (Portugal)
• Bundesministerium der Justiz (Germany)
• Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura (Italy)
• Justicni Akademie (Czech Republic)
• Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Rumania and
  Slovenia have joined at a later stage,
  collaborating mostly by raising awareness of the
  activity among the members of the judicial system
  in their countries and encouraging judges to take
  part in the course -a task that is not involved
  in the initial design of the activity but is
  undoubtedly key for the proper operation of the
  course.

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3. Institutional Framework
4. SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION

• Making the project a reality has been possible
  thanks to the support of the European Union,
  through the establishment of grant agreements
  with the European Commission to provide the
  necessary funding.

• Making the project a reality has been possible
  thanks to the support of the European Union,
  through the establishment of grant agreements to
  provide the necessary funding.

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4. Support from the European Union (2)

• The project has benefitted from the following
  four grant agreements, corresponding to the
  editions of the years 2005, 2006, 2007 (two
  editions) and 2008. The first edition was
  delivered as a pilot course for Spanish judges.
• The agreements are the following
• JAI / 2004 / FPC / 011
• JLS / 2005 / FPC / 013
• JLS / 2006 / FPC / 004
• JLS / CJ / 2007 1/13

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II. The Course Curriculum

1. PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
2. AIMS
3. CONTENTS
4. TEACHERS
5. RECIPIENTS
6. LEARNING RESOURCES
7. CERTIFICATION
8. TRANSLATION

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1. Purpose of the course

• The purpose of the course is to study, from a
  judicial point of view, the European Judicial
  Area in civil and commercial matters as a key
  part of the First Pillar it not only affects the
  creation of an area of freedom, security and
  justice, but also the free movement of people.

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2. Aims

• The aim of this training activity is to create a
  shared area of learning and communication for
  judges from all EU member states, with a view to
  gaining a deeper knowledge of the European
  Judicial Area in civil and commercial matters.
• The course aims to become an instrument where the
  judges taking part may learn about key new
  developments in legislation, analysing their
  content and the most significant problems in
  their application. For this purpose, the
  participants are given an overview of the
  European standardization process of international
  private law, and of the instruments currently
  being created to improve judicial cooperation
  between the courts of the EU member states.

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3. Institutional Framework
3. Contents (1)

• Course contents have a dual aim
• To offer a general overview of the European
  Judicial Area, with details on its historical
  background, evolution and prospects for the
  future
• To study the EU regulatory instruments in this
  field
• Structure
• 16 units grouped into 5 modules
• Supplemented with lectures in an audiovisual
  format ("TV Justicia")
• Future prospects of the European Judicial Area,
• The future of international private law.
• EU Regulation 1346/2000 on procedures for
  insolvency
• Support material
• A virtual tour of the European Judicial Area,
  with links to key documents available on the
  internet
• Online newsletter

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3. Contents (2)

• MODULE 1
• General overview of the European Judicial Area
• Historical background and development
• Instruments for improving judicial assistance in
  this field
• The communitisation of international private law
  
• The free circulation of judgments and the
  principle of mutual recognition

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3. Contents (3)

• MODULE 2
• International jurisdiction and applicable law
• Brussels I Regulation 44/2001 on jurisdiction and
  the recognition and enforcement of judgments in
  civil and commercial matters
• Regulations on the law applicable to
  non-contractual (Rome II) and contractual
  obligations (Rome I)

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3. Contents (4)

• MODULE 3
• Judgments in family matters
• Regulation 2201/2003
• International jurisdiction and recognition of
  judgments concerning divorce, separation and
  marriage annulment
• Protection of children
• Judgments concerning visiting rights and child
  abduction
• Cautionary measures in the different instruments
  on the recognition and enforcement of judgments.
  In the next edition, the following will be
  modified the recently passed Regulation 4/09 on
  jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and
  enforcement of decisions and cooperation in
  matters relating to maintenance obligations.

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3. Contents (5)

• MODULE 4
• New procedures regulated by European legislation
• European enforcement order for uncontested claims
  (Regulation 805/04)
• European order for payment procedure (Regulation
  1896/06)
• European small claims procedure (Regulation
  861/07)

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3. Contents (6)

• MODULE 5
• EU legislation improving the handling of
  proceedings involving a third EU member state
  ("European procedural law")
• Service of judicial and extra-judicial documents
  (Regulation 1393/07)
• Judicial cooperation in the taking of evidence
  (Regulation 1206/01)
• Access to justice (Directive 2002/8 on legal
  aid) mediation is also examined

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Teachers include nationals of six EU member
states Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany,
Italy and Portugal
4. Academic staff (1)

• The academic staff has been divided into four
  categories
• The Project Coordinator
• Two Academic Co-directors
• The authors of the unit materials (16 authors)
• The tutors (5 tutors, each one responsible for
  one module)
• All teachers are judges or university lecturers.

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4. Academic staff (2)

• Main roles of the different categories within
  the academic staff
• The Project Coordinator
• Designs the course and lays down the guidelines
  for the project. Maintains the institutional
  contacts necessary for the functioning of the
  course and proposes the teachers. Implements any
  adjustments needed on the basis of the evaluation
  of the course implementation, etc.
• The Academic Co-directors
• They are responsible for the academic curriculum
  and its implementation. They lay down the
  guidelines to be followed by the tutors, suggest
  ways for improving the project to the
  Coordinator, etc.

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4. Academic staff (3)

• The authors of the unit materials
• They write the contents of the units, adapting
  them to the intended recipients. They also
  prepare self-evaluation questionnaires.
• The tutors
• They play a key role in the course. They act as
  facilitators for the participants. They enable
  fluent communication and interaction in the
  course, assist the participants clarifying any
  queries, prepare materials that facilitate
  learning, and assess the participants'
  performance.

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5. The recipients

• More than 300 European judges and public
  prosecutors have taken part since the first
  edition in 2004. 223 succeeded in obtaining the
  course certificate. Countries with significant
  representation among the participants are Spain,
  Germany, Italy and Portugal. Some judges whose
  native language was offered in the course, have
  preferred to work in a different language in
  order to improve their skills.

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6. Learning resources (1)
The course offers a total of 121 resources and
web links. A number of different formats and
computer tools have been used (pdf, video, mp3,
flash animations, self-evaluation tests,
videoconference, etc.) in order to select the
ones that are best suited (content transmission,
communication, debate, evaluation, etc.)
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6. Learning resources (2)

• Learning resources
• Guide to learning (course presentation and
  instructions) in pdf format
• 16 Units in pdf format
• 16 self-evaluation questionnaires (one for each
  unit) in java application format
• An Online Library containing a comprehensive
  collection of internet links in relation to the
  subject matter of the course (virtual tour)
• 3 videoconferences, each one lasting 20 minutes,
  on the supplementary topics. These are downloaded
  from the course platform using streaming
  technology. The audio is also available in mp3
  format
• 5 diagrams in flash animation format (one for
  each module)
• 5 practical courses (one for each module)
• And in addition, the virtual course tools
  debate forums, personal sites, chat rooms,
  platform email, etc.

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7. Certification

• The certificates issued to the participants are
  divided into three categories
• Certificate of achievement requires positive
  evaluation by the tutors of all five practical
  cases. A total of 75 hours are certified
  according to the European ECTS scheme (European
  Credits Transfer System), being equivalent to 3
  credits.
• Certificate of participation requires completing
  at least three practical cases. Hours of study/
  credits are not certified.
• Certificate of attendance for judges who take
  part in the on-site session. This is not a
  necessary condition for purposes of obtaining the
  certificate of achievement. 10 contact hours are
  certified.

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8. Translation

• Substantial administration efforts and funding
  are necessary to offer the course in four EU
  languages (Spanish, English, French and German).
• Translation of all materials is guaranteed into
  all four languages. The translation is performed
  in two stages first, a specialised company
  translates the texts, then, they are revised by
  legal professionals in order to ensure their
  suitability.
• All written communications between the teachers
  and students are also translated. Participating
  judges are guaranteed the possibility to use
  their language of choice at all times during the
  course.
• On-site sessions also rely on simultaneous
  interpreting into all working languages.

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III. Teaching methodology

• KEY ASPECTS OF THE COURSE TEACHING METHODOLOGY
• THE BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH
• UP-TO-DATE CONTENTS
• TUTORING

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The voluntary on-site session at the end of the
course enables the participants to complete their
learning of the contents covered, take part in
debates, exchange views and experiences and meet
judges from different EU countries.
1. THE BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH (1)
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1. THE BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH
(2)

• Once the e-learning phase of the course has
  concluded, the participants who have successfully
  completed it are invited to a final on-site
  session at the Judicial School in Barcelona. The
  purpose of this session is to arrive at
  conclusions on the course debates and the course
  evaluation. In addition, lectures are given by
  experts on European Judicial Cooperation.
• These meetings in Barcelona are an opportunity
  for direct contact between the participating
  judges, who come from across Europe, the course
  teachers and the managers of the Spanish Judicial
  School.

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2. UP-TO-DATE CONTENTS (1)

• The quality of the contents, their constant
  updating and their design taking into account the
  characteristics of the target recipients, are the
  fundamental criteria applied to their
  preparation.
• To select the authors of the unit contents, the
  aspects taken into account were their scientific
  competence and including authors of different
  European nationalities.

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2. UP-TO-DATE CONTENTS (2)

• Special attention has been given in the design of
  the course to update the contents on a continual
  basis, taking on board new developments in
  legislation and recent case law.
• To give an example of how contents are updated in
  each edition, 3 units have been re-written
  entirely in the 2008/9 edition, with a further 6
  being amended in depth.
• The translated versions of the texts into the
  working languages are revised by legal
  professionals in order to guarantee their
  linguistic quality and the use of adequate
  terminology.
• Each unit has a self-evaluation questionnaire
  prepared by the author of the unit content, which
  allows participants to evaluate their learning of
  the fundamental concepts covered.

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3. TUTORING

• Tutors play a key role in the course
  methodology.
• Each module has one tutor, with the
  following responsibilities
• Introducing the subject matter of the module,
  structuring the contents in the introductory
  document and flash animation diagrams.
• Moderating the debate forum. Each module has its
  own forum, where a topic is debated. The tutor
  offers a synthesis of the debate upon its
  conclusion.
• Facilitating learning of the module contents,
  answering any queries.
• Evaluating the practical cases, and establishing
  direct communication with the participants in
  connection with their work.

Example of the diagram prepared by the tutor for
module 4 (click to see the diagram)
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IV Evaluation and Implementation

1. Aspects to be evaluated and tools used
2. Some figures concerning evaluation
3. Some figures concerning course implementation
4. Aspects to be improved in course design and
   implementation

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1 Aspects to be evaluated and tools used

• The project is evaluated continually throughout
  the duration of the course, with the aim of
  making any necessary adjustments while the
  activity is ongoing, as far as possible.
• The following tools are used
• Learning evaluation, i.e. an assessment of how
  well the participants have learnt the course
  contents. Practical cases are used, as they are
  the best method for checking advanced learning.
• Evaluation of the project A debate open to the
  participation of all attendants is held in the
  on-site session, with the aim of discussing the
  aspects of the course that need improvement.
• Evaluation of participants' satisfaction This is
  evaluated through questionnaires. An online
  version is provided for the distance-learning
  part, and the on-site session is evaluated at the
  end of the activity. Both questionnaires are
  anonymous.
• Participants may contact the course
  administrators at any time during the activity to
  put forward any suggestions they may have.

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2. Some figures concerning evaluation

• E-learning phase
• Participants in the distance-learning
  course are generally satisfied. The average
  rating for the 2008/2009 edition for the course
  was 8.526 out of 10
• Final on-site session
• The average rating for all the items included in
  the questionnaire completed on conclusion of the
  final on-site session held in Barcelona on 1 and
  2 April 2009 was 4.37 out of 5
• Participants who are awarded the course
  certificate
• The percentage of participants who were awarded
  the course certificate in the 2008/2009 edition
  was 47.5. It should be pointed out that the
  course requires an important, continued effort
  over four months, and that the participants
  usually have a substantial workload of their own.

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3. Some figures concerning course implementation

• The e-learning platform is hosted at the server
  of the Spanish National Distance-learning
  University (UNED), which is the higher education
  centre with the largest number of students in
  Spain (142,172 students in undergraduate and
  postgraduate courses in the academic year
  2007/2008 - Source National Statistics
  Institute). The GCJ has a collaboration agreement
  in place with the UNED for online courses. The
  UNED guarantees the maintenance and stability of
  the course platform.
• The course offers a total of 121 online
  resources. During the 2008/2009 edition they
  received a total of 26,798 visits.
• The platform also allows permanent contact with
  the course administrators for the purposes of
  requesting assistance or forwarding any queries.
  By way of example, the course administrators'
  email address received a total of 96 messages
  concerning administrative matters, and 856
  messages were sent by the administrators
  (announcements, replies to queries, etc.)

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4. Aspects to be improved in course design and
implementation

• The course managers are committed to
  evaluating and putting into practice measures for
  improving the course, including the following
• Stepping up the use of debate forums on the
  course subject matters, as an instrument that
  enables the active participation of the student
  judges
• Enabling the use of instruments for synchronous
  communication, such as web-based videoconference,
  offering the possibility to communicate in real
  time with the course tutors
• Introducing the possibility to take part in
  activities that favour collaborative learning,
  such as activities carried out in small groups,
  which reinforce communication between the
  participating judges
• Creating a stable Online Learning Community that
  allows former participants in the course to meet
  and communicate

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V Newsletter

• Three issues have already been released of the
  newsletter, a publication aimed at and open to
  all who have taken part in the course over the
  last few years, and providing a contact point for
  professionals working in civil cooperation,
  judges and public prosecutors.
• Published in Spanish and English, an
  electronic version of the newsletter is delivered
  to all Spanish judges and prosecutors, all alumni
  of the different editions of the course, and all
  those interested in the European Judicial Area in
  civil and criminal matters.
• The sections included in the newsletter are new
  developments in legislation, articles on the
  European Judicial Area, interviews with prominent
  jurists, news, etc.

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• In conclusion The course on The European
  Judicial Area in civil and commercial matters has
  proved that new information and communication
  technologies can be used in the ongoing training
  of European judges and public prosecutors.
• This format facilitates the reconciliation of
  family life and professional duties, and enables
  judges and public prosecutors from across Europe
  to interact.

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ANNEX ACADEMIC AND COLLABORATING STAFF PROJECT
SENIOR MANAGERS Head Project Coordinator Félix
V. Azón Vilas. Justice. Member of the General
Council of the Judiciary Academic
co-directors Joaquín Delgado Martín. Senior
judge and expert of the Spanish Judicial Network
for International Judicial Cooperation (REJUE).
Head of Central Services of the General Council
of the Judiciary General Secretariat. Ana
Paloma Abarca Junco. Professor of Private
International Law of the State Distance-Learning
University (UNED)

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TUTORS Module 1 José Francisco Cobo Sáenz.
President of Section 2 of the Provincial Court of
Navarre. Member of the Spanish Judicial Network
for International Judicial Cooperation (REJUE).
Designated authority of the European Judicial
Network in Civil and Commercial matters Module
2 Mónica Herranz Ballesteros. Lecturer of Private
International Law of the Spanish National
Distance-Learning University (UNED). Module
3 Elena Farré Trepat. Senior judge of
First-instance Court no. 17 of Barcelona. Member
of the Spanish Judicial Network for International
Judicial Cooperation (REJUE). Module 4 Marina
Vargas Gómez-Urrutia. Collaborating lecturer of
Private International Law of the Spanish National
Distance-Learning University (UNED). Module
5 José Antonio Varelo Agrelo. Senior judge of the
Provincial Court of Lugo. Member of the Spanish
Judicial Network for International Judicial
Cooperation (REJUE).

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AUTHORS Unit 1 Lionel Rinuy. French senior
judge. Head of the European Judicial Area
division at the General Secretariat for European
Affairs Unit 2 Javier Luis Parra García.
Secretary of the Governing Chamber of the High
Court of Justice of Murcia. Contact point for the
European Judicial Network in civil and commercial
matters, and expert on international judicial
cooperation. Unit 3 Francisco Javier Arroyo
Fiestas. President of the Provincial Court of
Malaga. Member of the Spanish Judicial Network
for International Judicial Cooperation (REJUE).
Designated authority of the European Judicial
Network in Civil and Commercial matters Unit
4 Mónica Guzmán Zapater. Professor of Private
International Law of the National
Distance-Learning University and Mónica Herranz
Ballesteros. Lecturer of Private International
Law at the National Distance-Learning
University Unit 5 Ana Paloma Abarca Junco.
Professor of Private International Law of the
National Distance-Learning University. Unit
6 Mónica Herranz Ballesteros. Professor of
Private International Law of the National
Distance-Learning University. Unit 7 Ana Paloma
Abarca Junco. Professor of Private International
Law of the National Distance-Learning University.

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Unit 8 José Pascual Ortuño Muñoz. Senior judge.
Director of the Judicial School of the General
Council of the Judiciary Unit 9 Pilar Gonzálvez
Vicente. Senior Judge. Law clerk of the General
Council of the Judiciary and expert of the
Spanish Judicial Network for International
Judicial Cooperation (REJUE). Unit 10 Manuel
Almenar Belenguer. Senior judge. Member of the
General Council of the Judiciary Unit
11 Francisco de Paula Puig Blanes. Senior judge.
Head of External and Institutional Relations of
the Judicial School. Designated authority of the
European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial
matters Unit 12 Gordon Lingard. District Judge
of Bradford, United Kingdom Unit 13 Wolfgang
Jakob Hau. Professor of Private International
Law, Civil Procedure and Private Law of the
University of Passau (Germany) Unit 14 José
Antonio Varela Agrelo. Senior judge of the
Provincial Court of Lugo. Member of the Spanish
Judicial Network for International Judicial
Cooperation (REJUE). Unit 15 Paola Accardo.
Senior judge. Judge of the Corte dAppello di
Milano (Italy) Unit 16 Carlos Manuel Gonçalves
de Melo Marinho. Judge. Portuguese contact point
of the European Judicial Network in Civil and
Commercial matters. Portuguese Higher Judicial
Council

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ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT TEAM Facilitator
Mª José Puente Official of the UNED-associated
centre in Barbastro Management Concha Vega
Fernández Antonio Marchal Martos Ángel J.
Fresneda Heredero Heads of Unit of the Judicial
School of the General Council of the Judiciary
Administration Amelia Bayón Gimeno María
Eugenia Guijarro Cuellar Elvira Herrero
García Pilar Ameigeiras Benito Officials of the
Judicial School of the General Council of the
Judiciary