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On 20–21 October 2016, a meeting of participants of the European Commission funded project “Supreme Courts: the guarantor of efficiency of the European Union judicial systems” was held at the Supreme Court of Lithuania in Vilnius. Exchange of the best practice revealed that the Supreme Court of Lithuania had been applying advanced working methods and that Lithuanian courts are among the most open courts across Europe.

According to Aurimas Brazdeikis, Advisor to President of the Supreme Court and curator of the event, this meeting has definitely enhanced the image of Lithuanian courts in Europe, whereas a comparative analysis with foreign colleagues has left no doubts about a huge progress towards transparency made by Lithuanian courts. “The case allocation software has been used by Lithuanian courts for more than a year, enabling transparency and smooth functioning of the court. It is not new to our society, unlike in Hungary or Latvia,” noted the lawyer.

For two days judges and legal experts from Latvian, Spanish and Hungarian Supreme Courts attended three sessions to discuss other ways to improve the work of Supreme Courts, draw on new experience and consult representatives from scientific community. “We discussed the models and experience of publication of judicial decisions, the use of databases, allocation of cases, ways of cooperation between Supreme Courts and legal education institutions, and prospects for development,” Mr. Brazdeikis pointed out.

The main goals of the project “Supreme Courts: the guarantor of efficiency of the European Union judicial systems” include professional development of the staff of Supreme Courts, improvement of work organisation, increasing the transparency of court activities and promoting trust in courts.

The project covers the analysis of work of legal research and generalisation divisions of Supreme Courts, public relations, the role of the Supreme Court and relation to judicial autonomy, organisation of court work when allocating cases, providing assistance to judges and ensuring fast and qualitative examination of cases.

The joint project coordinated by the Supreme Court of Latvia is aimed not only at generalising and sharing the best practice of the EU Supreme Courts. The analysis results are planned to be summed up at the end of the project by producing the handbook of best practices for courts and legislators. During the project, the staff of Supreme Courts will be provided with an opportunity to visit and draw on new knowledge from Spanish, Hungarian and Lithuanian Supreme Courts as well as the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

The project is funded by the European Union.The document does not present the opinion of the European Commission. The document only reflects the author’s views. The European Commission is not responsible for the information presented herein or the use thereof.