Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a computerised system for communication in cross-border civil and criminal proceedings (e-CODEX system), and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726

On 2 December 2020, the Commission presented its proposal for a regulation on the e-CODEX system (e-Justice Communication via On-line Data Exchange). The main purpose of the e-CODEX system is to enable the digitalisation of judicial communication, including communication between courts, as well as between citizens and courts, and the secure exchange of judicial documents. E-CODEX was launched under the multinannual e-Justice action plan 2009-2013 and until now it has been developed by 21 Member States. It is managed by a consortium of Member States and other organisations, financed by an EU grant. However, this temporary management solution does not provide for the system’s long-term operational management. To remedy this situation, this proposal aims to provide a sustainable and long-term legal framework for the system, by handing over its management to eu-LISA.

The proposal was one of the priority dossiers of the Slovenian Presidency. It was thoroughly examined at expert level in the Ad hoc Working party and a general approach was reached in the Council on 7 June 2021. An amendment to this general approach was approved on 22 July 2021, with an agreement to develop and manage the operation of e-CODEX in Tallinn, Estonia.

The report of the European Parliament on the proposal was discussed in the JURI and LIBE Committes. On 14 October 2021, the European Parliament adopted its report and then decided to open interinstitutional negotiations. The decision was later approved in plenary on 20 October 2021.

The first political trilogue was held on 9 November 2021 and the second on 8 December 2021. At the second trilogue, the European Parliament and the Council representatives provisionally agreed on a compromised text that still must be approved by the Council and the European Parliament before going through the formal adoption procedure. The provisional text introduces provisions protecting independence of the judiciary, details on the governance and management structure within eu-LISA and possibilities for Member States to contribute to further development of the e-CODEX system.

Timing is of particular importance as there needs to be sufficient time between the adoption of the Regulation and the actual transfer to eu-LISA, in order to allow eu-LISA to secure funding and staffing.