Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The Justice Programme provides funding for the further development of a European area of justice based on the rule of law, mutual recognition, mutual trust and judicial cooperation, thereby also strengthening democracy and fundamental rights.

More specifically, the Justice Programme:

•   facilitates and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters and promote the rule of law including by supporting the efforts to improve the effectiveness of national justice systems and the enforcement of decision;

•   supports and promote judicial training, with a view to fostering a common legal, judicial and rule of law culture;

•   facilitates effective access to justice for all and effective redress, including by electronic means, by promoting efficient civil and criminal procedures and by promoting and supporting the rights of victims of crime as well as the procedural rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings.

Estimated savings and benefits

Together with the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), the Justice Programme will help to sustain open, democratic, pluralist and inclusive societies. It will also help to empower people by protecting and promoting rights and values and by further developing an EU area of justice.

These two programmes will complement each other and allow:

– developing synergies among policies, finding a common ground for action, while respecting their specific features;

– reducing overlap and fragmentation;

– ensuring flexibility in the allocation of funds, while ensuring a certain degree of predictability of funding dedicated to each policy;

– fostering cross-sectoral and innovative actions;

– ensuring the promotion of EU values, taking into account the needs of each policy.

Furthermore, simplification measures, e.g. lump sums, flat rates and unit costs, will be sought in the implementation of the proposed Justice Programme.

Objectives

The Justice Programme has the following three specific objectives:

• to facilitate and support judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters and to promote the rule of law, independence and impartiality of the judiciary, including by supporting the efforts to improve the effectiveness of national justice systems and the effective enforcement of decisions;

• to support and promote judicial training, with a view to fostering a common legal, judicial and rule of law culture, as well as the consistent and effective implementation of the Union’s legal instruments relevant in the context of this programme;

• to facilitate effective and non-discriminatory access to justice for all and effective redress, including by electronic means (e-Justice), by promoting efficient civil and criminal procedures and by promoting and supporting the rights of victims of crime as well as the procedural rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings.