Informele JBZ-Raad over asiel en strafwetgeving afgelopen (en)

At the Informal Meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Vienna on 13 and 14 January, the further development of European criminal law and the fundamental rights of citizens were the main themes discussed on Friday afternoon. "This afternoon's meeting was very successful. We clarified how we intend to proceed in a number of areas", Council President Karin Gastinger (Austrian minister of Justice) said in the subsequent press conference. She highlighted the three core topics of the discussions:

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  Minimum standards for the conduct of proceedings and protection of basic rights in the area of criminal law
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  Consequences of the European Court judgment on the Framework Decision on the protection of the environment through criminal law
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  Establishment of maximum coherence in civil and criminal law

Gastinger expressed her satisfaction at the fact that agreement had been reached in principle concerning the protection of fundamental rights. "The Presidency wishes to continue the work on the subject of protecting fundamental rights", Gastinger said. The prerequisite for this was mutual confidence. She referred to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights as the basis for such work. The Austrian Presidency had also taken a new initiative and proposed minimum guarantees for fair proceedings and the protection of individuals in such proceedings, in the interests of more efficient criminal prosecutions.

According to the Minister, the development of the European systems of criminal penalties had been discussed in detail in the light of the case law of the European Court of Justice. The ECJ judgment on the Framework Decision on the protection of the environment through criminal law had given rise to confusion and lack of clarity as to the principles. The Austrian Presidency would endeavour to ensure that mechanisms were introduced to prevent the alienation of the Union's citizens from basic penal provisions. It was above all necessary to preserve in full the influence of the national parliaments and the respective Justice Ministers.

With regard to the objective of ensuring maximum coherence, the Council President said that various aspects of civil law such as company law, copyright, contract law and compensation for damages were dealt with in different Council formations. Such matters did not fall within the competence of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, but were very often the responsibility of the national Justice Ministers. The Presidency considered it very important to raise awareness in this area and to discuss how existing information deficits could be overcome.