TRIIAL (TRust, Independence, Impartiality and Accountability of judges and arbitrators safeguarding the rule of Law under the EU Charter)

The project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union Justice Programme (2014–2020), based on G. A No. 853832

TRIIAL – Trust, Independence, Impartiality and Accountability of judges and arbitrators safeguarding the rule of law under the EU Charter

TRIIAL is a project funded by the European Union. It is coordinated by the EUI Centre for Judicial Cooperation in Florence and involves 12 partners.

The TRIIAL project is supported by the Directorate-General for Justice. It provides training activities and tools for judges, lawyers, arbitrators, and other legal professionals in areas that are of primary importance for the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter): trust, independence, impartiality, and accountability of judges and arbitrators. Its main objective is to clarify and disseminate knowledge about the Charter's potential to ensure and improve fundamental rights standards, ultimately benefiting the rule of law in Member States.

The TRIIAL project runs from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022.

II. Activities

As part of the TRIIAL project, the partners will first conduct research and analysis of case law in the field of the project. Based on this, a training manual will be designed with an overview of relevant (supra)national case law and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as well as training materials. The partners will translate the handbook into the language of the Member State in which they operate and adapt it to its needs. Training courses will be organized: four supranational, seven cross-border, and five national. The training will be attended by 460 judicial practitioners from different Member States. The project will continue efforts to connect and cooperate with legal experts. An e-learning tool on the rule of law and the Charter will also be developed, and the existing collection of national case law established in previous projects will be expanded.

III. Expected results

• Increased awareness and capacity of judicial practitioners to use judicial interaction techniques as a means of improving the effectiveness of the Charter in the current areas of European Union activity.
• Increased knowledge of EU fundamental rights protection instruments among judicial practitioners.
• Improved cooperation and mutual trust between judicial practitioners and training providers in the context of cross-border judicial cooperation.

Key results of the project

• a training manual on the added value of the Charter in relation to the trust, independence, impartiality, and accountability of judges and arbitrators;
• an e-learning course on the application of the Charter in these areas;
• an update of the collection of national case law on the application of the Charter, established in the context of previous projects led by the Center for Judicial Cooperation of the European University Institute in Florence;
• 16 training courses (four transnational, seven cross-border, and five national);
• 10 national training curricula;
• methodological guidelines for training;
• national reports on the state of play regarding the trust, independence, impartiality, and accountability of judges and arbitrators in the following EU Member States: Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Portugal (available here)

IV. Project applicant: EUI Centre for Judicial Cooperation

Gabor Halmai (project leader), Joanna Wielgo (project manager), Federica Casarosa (research associate), Madalina Moraru (project associate), Mariavittoria Cantanzariti (project associate).

V. Project partners

Slovenian partner: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law

Prof. Dr. Saša Zagorc, Assoc. Prof. Mohor Fajdiga

Other partners: Belgian Judicial Training Institute (IFG/IGO), Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Institute for Law and Society (INPRIS), Italian School for the Magistracy (SSM), Lisbon Centre for Research in Public Law (CIDP), National Association of the Romanian Bars (UNBR), The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS), University of Florence (UNIFI), University of Gdansk (UG), University of Maastricht (UM), University of Pompeu Fabra (UPF).