From the work of the Programme Conference
The Programme Conference of the German Judges’ Academy
A review
The Programme Conference of the German Judges’ Academy: here, the oft-cited saying that the name has become the programme applies in a particularly vivid way. For, naturally, one of the Programme Conference’s central tasks is to develop the German Judges’ Academy’s continuing professional development programme. However, it is no longer simply a matter of offering an attractive and modern continuing professional development programme for judges and public prosecutors. Rather, in a constantly evolving training landscape with a multitude of new framework conditions for the work of the Programme Conference, new topics and challenges arise when it comes to defining the position of the German Judges’ Academy within the structure of the now diverse range of national and international training programmes.
In this way, the Programme Conference has, particularly in recent years, underlined its significance and function as the central decision-making body of the German Judges’ Academy and has also made this even more visible to the outside world. Like a general assembly, it takes all decisions fundamental to the work of the German Judges’ Academy directly or, where necessary – because they go beyond purely administrative activities – provides the Director with guidelines and directions for his work. In order to carry out these tasks, the Programme Conference meets twice a year for three-day sessions, one of which takes place in the host country – which changes annually in line with the Conference of Ministers of Justice – at the invitation of that country, and the other – also on a rotating basis – at one of the two conference venues of the German Judges’ Academy. However, issues also arise in the interim that cannot be left until the next meeting. In such cases, the Programme Conference, as a standing decision-making body, decides by written circulation.
1. The participants in the Programme Conference
The members of the Programme Conference are the seventeen training officers from the federal and state governments. These are often judges and public prosecutors seconded to the respective Ministry of Justice for a period of two to three years, but some are also so-called permanent staff, i.e. colleagues who perform this role as ministry officials. This brings together a broad spectrum of knowledge and professional experience within the Programme Conference, which complements and enriches one another in the best possible way when carrying out tasks, particularly, of course, when drawing up the annual programme. This spectrum is further broadened by the fact that the state justice administrations – whose states have their own judicial academies or, like Schleswig-Holstein, have placed further training under the jurisdiction of the Higher Regional Court – also incorporate the experience gained there through their participation in the Programme Conference, and in some cases even demonstrate this through appropriate representation on the Programme Conference.
(Meeting of the Programme Conference in late May / early June 2012 in Wiesbaden)
Another key figure in the Programme Conference is the Director of the German Judges’ Academy. He advises the Programme Conference on the drafting of the annual programme. Although, according to Section 5 of the Administrative Agreement between the Federal Government and the Länder on the German Judges’ Academy, he formally has only an advisory role, in practice, however, he is a participant in the Programme Conference, particularly due to his role – also defined in Section 5 of the Administrative Agreement – of coordinating the conference schedule at the two conference venues and supporting the organising states in running the conferences. Thanks to his comprehensive overview of the work, he provides important impetus and is therefore highly valued by all members of the Programme Conference. In this task, the Director is supported by the two administrative heads of the conference venues in Trier and Wustrau. The nationally significant representative bodies of judges and public prosecutors are also represented in the Programme Conference in an advisory capacity.
(Meeting of the Programme Conference in March 2012 in Wustrau)
The decisions of the Programme Conference are structured to be based on consensus. This is almost always successful – albeit sometimes following extensive deliberations actively seeking a solution acceptable to all. Only if (exceptionally) no agreement is reached does the Programme Conference decide, in accordance with Clause 4 of the Administrative Agreement, by a three-quarters majority of the votes. To provide a consistent basis for the ongoing work of the German Judges’ Academy, the fundamental resolutions of the Programme Conference – particularly regarding programme content and structure, as well as programme responsibility and organisation – are compiled in a collection of resolutions.
(Coffee break during a Programme Conference meeting in Wustrau)
2. The tasks of the Programme Conference
The central task at the heart of the Programme Conference’s activities is the preparation of the annual conference programme.
a. The development and preparation of the annual programme
The development of the German Judges’ Academy’s training programme is the responsibility of the Programme Conference. It draws up the broad outlines of the German Judges’ Academy’s annual programme one calendar year in advance, determining in particular the number, duration and topics of the conferences to be held. It also determines which judicial administrations will be responsible for organising them. The programme, as agreed in broad terms, is implemented by the respective host state.
The German Judges’ Academy does not, therefore, develop the conference programme itself. In keeping with its character as a joint institution of the Federal Government and the Länder, not only do all parties contribute to and benefit from the programme, but they also decide on it collectively. To this end, the members of the Programme Conference responsible for training assess the practical needs within their respective areas of responsibility. Training for practice must stem from practice. In addition to suggestions from the field, current developments are taken into account, such as those relating to legislative changes or the legal policy priorities of individual administrations and their senior management. At the start of each year, therefore, the training departments review and prioritise what should be included in the proposals for the Programme Conference. Naturally, the results of conferences held in previous years, as well as the respective demand and the feedback from conference participants, also play an important role.
The country currently chairing the Programme Conference collects the individual conference proposals and compiles them. This provides the necessary overall overview and allows for a check to see whether there are any overlaps with proposals from other administrations. The Programme Conference then sets out to agree on a balanced programme comprising some 140 individual events from the individual proposals. ‘Balanced’ means that specialist conferences are offered for the individual areas of law in accordance with their significance. In addition, the programme must also address issues with an international and interdisciplinary focus. Finally, behaviour-oriented conferences and conferences aimed at training senior judicial staff are becoming increasingly important.
In addition to the conference topics, the scope of the conferences is also determined at the programme conference. Conferences usually take place over four to five weekdays, though there are also conferences lasting a week and a half. The specific conference topics and their duration are generally determined during the first meeting of the programme conference in March of each year for the following year’s programme.
The second main task, which is reserved for the second meeting in May/June, is then the fine-tuning, in particular the allocation of time and the distribution of the available budgetary resources among the respective conferences. At this stage of the process, the Programme Conference also makes the final decision as to which conferences, given their focus on European law, are suitable for being advertised via the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) event catalogue and thus opened up to interested guest attendees across Europe. One of these conferences may also be supported via the EJTN with European funding, which is then used to provide interpreting services and cover the travel expenses of foreign conference participants, in the interests of ensuring a multinational group of attendees. The decision as to which conferences should be proposed to the EJTN for this additional financial support is also taken by the Programme Conference at its second meeting. This means that by June of each year, the programme for the following year is already finalised. This provides the necessary planning certainty for all involved.
However, the programme planning also retains the necessary flexibility to respond at short notice to current needs or to developments driven by legal policy. In October of each year, two current weeks are organised in Trier and Wustrau respectively under the name ‘Autumn Academy’. These two conference weeks remain thematically open during the planning stage and are only finalised in June of the respective year. The eight topical events of the Autumn Academy have proven their worth and complement the necessary long-term planning with innovative elements.
b. New tasks – new challenges
Beyond programme planning, the Programme Conference has established itself as the decision-making body that discusses all issues and, where necessary, reaches a decision on matters of fundamental importance to the German Judges’ Academy, its work and its position within the continuing professional development landscape.
(1) In view of the steadily growing influence of European and international legislation on national law, as well as the resulting diverse interest from foreign training institutions in collaborating with the German Judges’ Academy, entirely new issues are arising. Accordingly, the Programme Conference now regularly addresses internationally oriented matters as well. Their fundamental importance – and the consequent need for the Programme Conference to address them – stems crucially from the fact that the German Judges’ Academy’s human and material resources, as is the case with any organisation, are limited. It is therefore necessary to weigh up very carefully the extent to which and the manner in which the available resources should be deployed for international tasks.
Part of this complex issue is the decision as to with which foreign partners, and in what form, specific cooperation can and should be established, which is then also reflected in the annual programmes. The close cooperation – in some cases already friendly, thanks to good personal contacts – between the German Judges’ Academy and our Austrian colleagues in further training, who are based at the Higher Regional Courts and the Ministry of Justice there, as well as the special cooperation with the Turkish Judicial Academy, are a clear and visible expression of these new arrangements, which are beneficial to all involved. The bilateral cooperation with the French Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM), which has just been established, is further evidence of this development.
Another area in this context is the question of which international training organisations the German Judicial Academy should join as a member. Decisions on individual measures for project-based cooperation are also part of this. Recently, the German Judicial Academy has received several offers from European training institutions to jointly apply for European Commission tenders, with a view to subsequently offering events funded by European grants. Here too, the Programme Conference must weigh up a variety of aspects, such as the question of resources, but also strategic considerations regarding its own positioning within the European training landscape. The decision recently taken to engage in project-based cooperation with the European Law Academy, which is also based in Trier, points the way forward.
(2) In addition to internationalisation, the desired and actively pursued modernisation and professionalisation of its own work also presents the Programme Conference with new challenges. Since the German Judges’ Academy was founded in 1973, the landscape of judicial training has changed significantly: technological change, legislative activity across all areas of substantive and procedural law at an ever-increasing pace, and the resulting growing specialisation among legal practitioners are key indicators of this development. These changes stand in tension with the mandate of the German Judges’ Academy, as set out unchanged in Section 2 of the Administrative Agreement, to provide judges and public prosecutors with “further training in their specialist fields and to impart to them knowledge and experience regarding political, social, economic and other academic developments”.
When drawing up the annual programme, the question repeatedly arises as to how this postulate can be put into practice and brought to life, even amidst constantly changing conditions. The search for an answer to this question inevitably leads to the fundamental question of what actually constitutes good further training. Individual indicators of this can be found quickly, such as the demand for a conference or the results of participant evaluations. The Programme Conference, at its meeting in Wustrau in May 2011, established that these criteria cannot constitute the entire definition of good continuing professional development. It therefore commissioned an internal working group to draft a position paper on this issue, which is as comprehensive as it is complex. The result, in the form of a paper that chronologically examines six identified key tasks of a modern training institution and formulates 36 concluding theses on this subject, is now available and was approved by the Programme Conference following extensive discussion in June 2012 in Wiesbaden. However, in view of the dynamics of judicial training already highlighted, the Programme Conference is aware that this position paper can only be of a provisional nature. In a few years’ time, it will therefore need to critically assess whether the 36 theses have in fact proved to be both up-to-date and practicable. The Programme Conference has therefore commissioned the working group to continue its work in order to support this process.
3. Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that the tasks of the Programme Conference – and thus participation in this body – extend far beyond the seemingly technical task of compiling an annual directory of conference offerings. A wide range of substantive, strategic and organisational issues, which often have international implications and are also subject to constant change due to an ever-evolving continuing professional development landscape, shape the interesting and varied work of the Programme Conference. Added to this is a working atmosphere characterised by a high level of expertise and collegiality. It is therefore more than easy to conclude that participating in the Programme Conference is a professional enrichment.
From the work of the Programme Conference
The Programme Conference of the German Judges’ Academy
A review
The Programme Conference of the German Judges’ Academy: here, the oft-cited saying that the name has become the programme applies in a particularly vivid way. For, naturally, one of the Programme Conference’s central tasks is to develop the German Judges’ Academy’s continuing professional development programme. However, it is no longer simply a matter of offering an attractive and modern continuing professional development programme for judges and public prosecutors. Rather, in a constantly evolving training landscape with a multitude of new framework conditions for the work of the Programme Conference, new topics and challenges arise when it comes to defining the position of the German Judges’ Academy within the structure of the now diverse range of national and international training programmes.
In this way, the Programme Conference has, particularly in recent years, underlined its significance and function as the central decision-making body of the German Judges’ Academy and has also made this even more visible to the outside world. Like a general assembly, it takes all decisions fundamental to the work of the German Judges’ Academy directly or, where necessary – because they go beyond purely administrative activities – provides the Director with guidelines and directions for his work. In order to carry out these tasks, the Programme Conference meets twice a year for three-day sessions, one of which takes place in the host country – which changes annually in line with the Conference of Ministers of Justice – at the invitation of that country, and the other – also on a rotating basis – at one of the two conference venues of the German Judges’ Academy. However, issues also arise in the interim that cannot be left until the next meeting. In such cases, the Programme Conference, as a standing decision-making body, decides by written circulation.
1. The participants in the Programme Conference
The members of the Programme Conference are the seventeen training officers from the federal and state governments. These are often judges and public prosecutors seconded to the respective Ministry of Justice for a period of two to three years, but some are also so-called permanent staff, i.e. colleagues who perform this role as ministry officials. This brings together a broad spectrum of knowledge and professional experience within the Programme Conference, which complements and enriches one another in the best possible way when carrying out tasks, particularly, of course, when drawing up the annual programme. This spectrum is further broadened by the fact that the state justice administrations – whose states have their own judicial academies or, like Schleswig-Holstein, have placed further training under the jurisdiction of the Higher Regional Court – also incorporate the experience gained there through their participation in the Programme Conference, and in some cases even demonstrate this through appropriate representation on the Programme Conference.
(Meeting of the Programme Conference in late May / early June 2012 in Wiesbaden)
Another key figure in the Programme Conference is the Director of the German Judges’ Academy. He advises the Programme Conference on the drafting of the annual programme. Although, according to Section 5 of the Administrative Agreement between the Federal Government and the Länder on the German Judges’ Academy, he formally has only an advisory role, in practice, however, he is a participant in the Programme Conference, particularly due to his role – also defined in Section 5 of the Administrative Agreement – of coordinating the conference schedule at the two conference venues and supporting the organising states in running the conferences. Thanks to his comprehensive overview of the work, he provides important impetus and is therefore highly valued by all members of the Programme Conference. In this task, the Director is supported by the two administrative heads of the conference venues in Trier and Wustrau. The nationally significant representative bodies of judges and public prosecutors are also represented in the Programme Conference in an advisory capacity.
(Meeting of the Programme Conference in March 2012 in Wustrau)
The decisions of the Programme Conference are structured to be based on consensus. This is almost always successful – albeit sometimes following extensive deliberations actively seeking a solution acceptable to all. Only if (exceptionally) no agreement is reached does the Programme Conference decide, in accordance with Clause 4 of the Administrative Agreement, by a three-quarters majority of the votes. To provide a consistent basis for the ongoing work of the German Judges’ Academy, the fundamental resolutions of the Programme Conference – particularly regarding programme content and structure, as well as programme responsibility and organisation – are compiled in a collection of resolutions.
(Coffee break during a Programme Conference meeting in Wustrau)
2. The tasks of the Programme Conference
The central task at the heart of the Programme Conference’s activities is the preparation of the annual conference programme.
a. The development and preparation of the annual programme
The development of the German Judges’ Academy’s training programme is the responsibility of the Programme Conference. It draws up the broad outlines of the German Judges’ Academy’s annual programme one calendar year in advance, determining in particular the number, duration and topics of the conferences to be held. It also determines which judicial administrations will be responsible for organising them. The programme, as agreed in broad terms, is implemented by the respective host state.
The German Judges’ Academy does not, therefore, develop the conference programme itself. In keeping with its character as a joint institution of the Federal Government and the Länder, not only do all parties contribute to and benefit from the programme, but they also decide on it collectively. To this end, the members of the Programme Conference responsible for training assess the practical needs within their respective areas of responsibility. Training for practice must stem from practice. In addition to suggestions from the field, current developments are taken into account, such as those relating to legislative changes or the legal policy priorities of individual administrations and their senior management. At the start of each year, therefore, the training departments review and prioritise what should be included in the proposals for the Programme Conference. Naturally, the results of conferences held in previous years, as well as the respective demand and the feedback from conference participants, also play an important role.
The country currently chairing the Programme Conference collects the individual conference proposals and compiles them. This provides the necessary overall overview and allows for a check to see whether there are any overlaps with proposals from other administrations. The Programme Conference then sets out to agree on a balanced programme comprising some 140 individual events from the individual proposals. ‘Balanced’ means that specialist conferences are offered for the individual areas of law in accordance with their significance. In addition, the programme must also address issues with an international and interdisciplinary focus. Finally, behaviour-oriented conferences and conferences aimed at training senior judicial staff are becoming increasingly important.
In addition to the conference topics, the scope of the conferences is also determined at the programme conference. Conferences usually take place over four to five weekdays, though there are also conferences lasting a week and a half. The specific conference topics and their duration are generally determined during the first meeting of the programme conference in March of each year for the following year’s programme.
The second main task, which is reserved for the second meeting in May/June, is then the fine-tuning, in particular the allocation of time and the distribution of the available budgetary resources among the respective conferences. At this stage of the process, the Programme Conference also makes the final decision as to which conferences, given their focus on European law, are suitable for being advertised via the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) event catalogue and thus opened up to interested guest attendees across Europe. One of these conferences may also be supported via the EJTN with European funding, which is then used to provide interpreting services and cover the travel expenses of foreign conference participants, in the interests of ensuring a multinational group of attendees. The decision as to which conferences should be proposed to the EJTN for this additional financial support is also taken by the Programme Conference at its second meeting. This means that by June of each year, the programme for the following year is already finalised. This provides the necessary planning certainty for all involved.
However, the programme planning also retains the necessary flexibility to respond at short notice to current needs or to developments driven by legal policy. In October of each year, two current weeks are organised in Trier and Wustrau respectively under the name ‘Autumn Academy’. These two conference weeks remain thematically open during the planning stage and are only finalised in June of the respective year. The eight topical events of the Autumn Academy have proven their worth and complement the necessary long-term planning with innovative elements.
b. New tasks – new challenges
Beyond programme planning, the Programme Conference has established itself as the decision-making body that discusses all issues and, where necessary, reaches a decision on matters of fundamental importance to the German Judges’ Academy, its work and its position within the continuing professional development landscape.
(1) In view of the steadily growing influence of European and international legislation on national law, as well as the resulting diverse interest from foreign training institutions in collaborating with the German Judges’ Academy, entirely new issues are arising. Accordingly, the Programme Conference now regularly addresses internationally oriented matters as well. Their fundamental importance – and the consequent need for the Programme Conference to address them – stems crucially from the fact that the German Judges’ Academy’s human and material resources, as is the case with any organisation, are limited. It is therefore necessary to weigh up very carefully the extent to which and the manner in which the available resources should be deployed for international tasks.
Part of this complex issue is the decision as to with which foreign partners, and in what form, specific cooperation can and should be established, which is then also reflected in the annual programmes. The close cooperation – in some cases already friendly, thanks to good personal contacts – between the German Judges’ Academy and our Austrian colleagues in further training, who are based at the Higher Regional Courts and the Ministry of Justice there, as well as the special cooperation with the Turkish Judicial Academy, are a clear and visible expression of these new arrangements, which are beneficial to all involved. The bilateral cooperation with the French Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM), which has just been established, is further evidence of this development.
Another area in this context is the question of which international training organisations the German Judicial Academy should join as a member. Decisions on individual measures for project-based cooperation are also part of this. Recently, the German Judicial Academy has received several offers from European training institutions to jointly apply for European Commission tenders, with a view to subsequently offering events funded by European grants. Here too, the Programme Conference must weigh up a variety of aspects, such as the question of resources, but also strategic considerations regarding its own positioning within the European training landscape. The decision recently taken to engage in project-based cooperation with the European Law Academy, which is also based in Trier, points the way forward.
(2) In addition to internationalisation, the desired and actively pursued modernisation and professionalisation of its own work also presents the Programme Conference with new challenges. Since the German Judges’ Academy was founded in 1973, the landscape of judicial training has changed significantly: technological change, legislative activity across all areas of substantive and procedural law at an ever-increasing pace, and the resulting growing specialisation among legal practitioners are key indicators of this development. These changes stand in tension with the mandate of the German Judges’ Academy, as set out unchanged in Section 2 of the Administrative Agreement, to provide judges and public prosecutors with “further training in their specialist fields and to impart to them knowledge and experience regarding political, social, economic and other academic developments”.
When drawing up the annual programme, the question repeatedly arises as to how this postulate can be put into practice and brought to life, even amidst constantly changing conditions. The search for an answer to this question inevitably leads to the fundamental question of what actually constitutes good further training. Individual indicators of this can be found quickly, such as the demand for a conference or the results of participant evaluations. The Programme Conference, at its meeting in Wustrau in May 2011, established that these criteria cannot constitute the entire definition of good continuing professional development. It therefore commissioned an internal working group to draft a position paper on this issue, which is as comprehensive as it is complex. The result, in the form of a paper that chronologically examines six identified key tasks of a modern training institution and formulates 36 concluding theses on this subject, is now available and was approved by the Programme Conference following extensive discussion in June 2012 in Wiesbaden. However, in view of the dynamics of judicial training already highlighted, the Programme Conference is aware that this position paper can only be of a provisional nature. In a few years’ time, it will therefore need to critically assess whether the 36 theses have in fact proved to be both up-to-date and practicable. The Programme Conference has therefore commissioned the working group to continue its work in order to support this process.
3. Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that the tasks of the Programme Conference – and thus participation in this body – extend far beyond the seemingly technical task of compiling an annual directory of conference offerings. A wide range of substantive, strategic and organisational issues, which often have international implications and are also subject to constant change due to an ever-evolving continuing professional development landscape, shape the interesting and varied work of the Programme Conference. Added to this is a working atmosphere characterised by a high level of expertise and collegiality. It is therefore more than easy to conclude that participating in the Programme Conference is a professional enrichment.
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