Presentation

The Open Justice conference intends to contribute to the ongoing discussion about open justice in a constructive manner, by re-examining the traditional ideas of the principle of the public hearing in light of modern day challenges (especially the growing use of information technologies). If public awareness of what happens in courts serves to reinforce public confidence in the administration of justice, the question posed today is how best to achieve increased awareness whilst, at the same time, paying heed to the values of integrity and fairness of the process.

Over the two days of the Conference, the participants will explore a variety of issues pertaining to the problematics of open justice, such as : the scope and content of the right to a public hearing as enshrined in various constitutional and supra-national instruments; the organisation of public oral hearings in civil and criminal proceedings and the relevant contemporary challenges of the information society ; the level of transparency in the processes of appointing and selecting judges, as well as the phenomenon of vanishing trials and the privatisation of justice in the form or arbitration and ADR mechanisms. The Conference will be closed by a roundtable discussion on the ways and the extent to which justice should be communicated to society. Among others, matters such as televising and broadcasting of judicial proceedings and the relationship between the judiciary and journalists shall be reflected on.

The Conference will bring together judges of European and national courts, academics, legal practitioners and legal journalists and provide them with a platform on which to express their understanding of the principle of open justice today, and exchange their views on how to tackle the aforementioned challenges. Given that there are different ways in which courts deal with these challenges in practice, and that rules vary from one jurisdiction to another in regulating the application of the open justice principle, it is hoped that this comparative element to the conference will add to the quality of discussion in this field.

Programme

Thursday, 1 February 2018

13.00 : Registration

13.30 : Welcome Address and Introductory Remarks
Prof. Burkhard Hess, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law

Panel I

13.45 : Right to a Public Hearing according to Art.6 ECHR and Art.47 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU: Constitutional Perspectives

Chair : Prof. Hélène Ruiz-Fabri, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law

Speaker : Advocate General Maciej Szpunar, Court of Justice of the European Union

Discussants :
Judge Angelika Nußberger, Vice-President, European Court of Human Rights
Judge Andreas Paulus, Bundesverfassungsgericht

Discussion

15.15 : Coffee Break

Panel II

15.45 : Public Hearings in Criminal Proceedings

Chair : Prof. Jan Henrik Klement, Saarland University

Speaker : Prof. Tatjana Hörnle, Humboldt University Berlin

Discussants :
Prof. Katalin Ligeti, University of Luxembourg
Prof. Ruth Herz, Birkbeck, University of London, former judge, Cologne

Discussion

17.00 : Coffee break

Panel III

17.30 : Public Hearings in Civil Proceedings

Chair : Prof. Burkhard Hess, Max Planck Institute Luxemburg for Procedural Law

Speaker : Prof. Cécile Chainais, Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas

Discussants :
Judge Jean-Claude Wiwinius, Président de la Cour Supérieure de Justice Luxembourg
Prof. Ulrich Haas, Universität Zürich (tbc)

Discussion

18.45 : Reception Dinner (on invitation)

Keynote Speech : The Rt Hon Lord Justice Ryder : Sir Ernest Nigel Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals, United Kingdom

20.00 : End

Friday, 2 February 2018

Panel I

9.00 : Transparency and the Appointment of Judges

Chair : Prof. Tiziana Chiusi, Saarland University

Speaker : Prof. Thomas Giegerich, Europa-Institut, Saarland University

Discussants :
Prof. Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris and New York University School of Law
Judge Siofra O'Leary, European Court of Human Rights

Discussion

10.30 : Coffee Break

Panel II

10.50 : Privatization of Justice and Transparency : Arbitration, ADR

Chair : Prof. Dame Hazel Genn, Director Centre for Access to Justice, University College London

Speaker : Prof. Judith Resnik, Yale Law School

Discussants :
Prof. Maxi Scherer, Queen Mary University of London
Dr John Sorabji, Principal Legal Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice and Master of the Rolls
Ana Koprivica, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law

Discussion

12.15 : Coffee Break

12.35 : Roundtable : Communicating Justice : Courts in a Democratic Society

Moderator : Dr Joachim Jahn, Neue Juristische Wochenschrift

Participants :
Judge Ferdinand Kirchhof, Vice-President, Bundesverfassungsgericht
Joshua Rozenberg QC (hon), Legal Commentator and Journalist
Prof. Dame Hazel Genn, Director Centre for Access to Justice, University College London
Prof. Jan Henrik Klement, Saarland University

13.45 : Closing of the conference

If you are interested in participating in this conference, please send your reservation request with your contact details (first name, surname and affiliation) to events@mpi.lu or contact Martina Winkel : (+352) 26 94 88 923 - The participation is free of charge.