Website: Efficiency of justice

The Council of Europe's activities in the judicial field are based on Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that "everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law". This article is one of the pillars of what is generally known as the 'rule of law'.

To encourage the full application of Article 6, the Council of Europe has established a Consultative Council of European Judges, or CCJE, composed exclusively of judges from the organisation's 47 member countries. The role of the CCJE is to strengthen the independence, impartiality and competence of judges.

The Consultative Council has no equivalent in any other international organisation. Its activities are matched by those of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, or CEPEJ, which has a more general remit to develop the standards of judicial systems and public justice services.

Finally, the work of these two bodies is complemented by that of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors (CCPE) and the Lisbon Network for the training of judges.