On June 6th 2023, the European Commission presented the EU Justice Scoreboard to various European governmental and economic bodies. The EU Justice Scoreboard is an annual review which analyses how effective national justice systems are. There is not one overall ranking, instead an overview of how Member States’ justice systems function. Three core aspects are analysed: efficiency, quality, and independence.
The Link between Justice Systems and the Economy
This European Semester, the European Union’s annual cycle of economic policy coordination, has set out improving efficiency, quality, and independence of justice systems as one of its core objectives. The justice system is important for economic policy as fully independent and well-functioning justice systems are important for ensuring the effective cross-border enforcement of contracts, administrative decisions, and dispute resolutions, which are all fundamental for the European Union’s single market.
Country-specific assessments are carried out this European Semester through a bilateral dialogue between concerned stakeholders and national authorities. If there is any shortcoming of macroeconomic significance discovered, the Commission may propose country-specific recommendations to help improve the national justice system in individual Member States.
Efficiency
To measure efficiency, the Scoreboard looked at the length of proceedings, the clearance rate (ratio of resolved cases to number of incoming), and the number of pending cases at the end of the year. The data on efficiency spans from 2012-2021, allowing for identification of trends and reform. In civil, commercial, and administrative cases the data trends positively. In 2020 there was a slight dip in efficiency (possibly due to Covid-19). In 2021 this returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, showing the effect of measures taken by Member States to keep courts functioning. Ireland is ranked is one of the least efficient Member States, coming 19th overall.
This year’s Scoreboard brought the introduction of efficiency in bribery cases. There are varying amounts of data across Member States (Ireland having zero), but it was reported that in 12 States proceedings conclude within a year, whilst in the 5 remaining States with data available, proceedings can last up to 4 years. The common trend amongst most cases was that there was an increase in efficiency across most of the Member States.
Quality
In analysing the quality of Member States’ justice systems, the scoreboard looks at access, digitalisation, sufficient resources and effective assessment tools. Overall, accessibility has remained mostly stable since 2016. The level of court fees has largely unchanged, Ireland ranking 6th overall for the lowest court fees in the EU.
For the first time, the scoreboard has looked at the specific arrangements made for those who are at risk of discrimination, victims of violence against women and domestic violence, and elderly persons. Ireland ranked 15th for the supports it offers to elderly people and 18th for the supports offered to victims of violence against women.
Regarding resources, general government spending on law courts remained relatively stable. Women account for less than 50% of judges at Supreme Court level in 20 Member States, with Ireland’s percentage being just over 30%.
In 2021, digitalisation was added. The situation has improved, with 26 Member States now providing online information about their judicial system. There are high discrepancies between what their websites offer – with only 14 of those Member States providing interactive simulations. With only two exceptions (Czechia and Germany), Member States do not fully use the potential allowed by their digital procedural rules. Procedural rules enable the use of distance communication and admission of evidence in digital format only. Ireland comes first for their procedural rules, but 22nd for their implementation.
Judicial Independence
Judicial Independence is fundamental for upholding the rule of law, fairness of judicial proceedings, and the trust of businesses and citizens within the legal system. To measure this, surveys from the general public (Eurobarometer FL519) and companies (Eurobarometer FL520) were conducted. Among the public, it was found that the perception of independence has improved in 15 Member States since 2016. However, it remains especially low in Hungary and Poland.
Among companies, perception of independence has improved in 12 Member States since 2016, however compared to 2021 it has decreased in 13 Member States. Some of the reasons for there being a perceived lack of independence of the judicial system is interference from government and politicians, and pressure from economic interests. A good perception was boosted by the guarantees provided by the status and position of judges, with nearly four fifths of the companies and public noting this as a positive.
Overall, the Scoreboard has shown promising trends across the Member States. Unfortunately, Ireland appears to be lagging behind its European counterparts and still has much to do in improving its efficiency, quality, and judicial independence.