RoL Symposium 2007

Description:

Central and Eastern Europe is currently one of the most dynamic and challenging regions in terms of transitional democracies and the strengthening of free market economies. As such, and taking into account the increasing regional and global interdependence of politics and economies, a symposium examining the state of the rule of law in CEE was an essential exercise towards highlighting common challenges; identifying successful approaches to reform; forming networks for future collaboration; and, in general, promoting the further social and political development of all countries in the region.

Funding/ Support/Partner:

Grant agreement between Novator LLP and BILI for the organization and carry out of the First CEE Rule of Law Symposium “Judicial reforms and EU accession”

NB: As part of the financial support for the RoL Symposium, BILI received a single special purposes funding from the “Open Society” Institute. The amount was nominal, therefore it is not described as a separate item.

Key events:

The 2007 Rule of Law Symposium was a high profile event which had the following main goals/topics for discussion:

1. Impact of EU accession on the Rule of Law;
2. Efficiency of Justice in the CEE and Turkey;
3. Legal Climate for Business in CEE and Turkey .

Outcomes:

The Symposium was attended by more than 120 high profile participants from all countries from the region including other EU member states and the USA. Key conclusions from the event included that the efforts to promote the rule of law and to further improve the functioning of the courts in the CEE region have to be sustained. In the new EU member states a specific attention needs to be directed towards insuring that the reform achievements of the pre-EU accession period will not be undone once a country accedes the Union. The EU institutions and the member states need to study the lessons from the negotiations with and the RoL assistance to the new EU member states from the CEE region in order to insure a more effective enforcement of the Copenhagen criteria in future enlargement and a greater effectiveness of the EU international development assistance. Specific efforts to ensure the role of the business as a stakeholder of the reforms need to be made. A comprehensive set of incentives need to be implemented to enhance the role of the business as donor for the Rule of Law reform efforts.

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