The Special Judiciary Session was an initiative of the Visegrád School of Political Studies and the Hungarian Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, under the support of Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Tibor Navracsics. The 2-day seminar addressed the European Union’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights and challenges and opportunities of judicial Cooperation in the V4+ region. Its aim was to gather young politicians and civil servants from the Visegrád 4+ region – Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – and was designed to help increase involvement in ongoing discussions on judicial issues, to foster exchange of know-how, and to strengthen regional cooperation among a new Central European generation of political leaders.
Hungary’s 2014 presidency of the Visegrád Four provided the opportunity for organizing a special format: in 2014, the customary Meeting of Central European Ministers of Justice, which aimed to enhance regional cooperation, while providing an occasion for effective discussions on current judicial topics, and prepare and coordinate national positions for the council meetings of Justice Ministers of the European Union was to take place simultaneously with the seminar.
A conference jointly opened by the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Tibor Navracsics aimed at connecting the two events and focusing on the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Opening Conference with the participation of justice ministers, high level presentations, and a roundtable discussion provided excellent opportunity to connect current leaders with future leaders.
