International Scientific Conference
PROCEDURAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN THE WORLD OF EMERGENCIES AND ECONOMIC CRISIS
26th - 30th of May 2014, Dubrovnik, Croatia

The 2014 Public and Private Justice Course and Conference at the IUC in Dubrovnik focuses on developments in civil justice in Europe and the world caused by new economic and political challenges that have significantly affected the fundamental concepts of civil proceedings. Seemingly, in many jurisdictions the balance between procedural principles has shifted – not only in the area of criminal justice, but also in the area of civil justice – from broad availability of judicial protection and the full scope of procedural safeguards, to policies that favour budgetary cuts and efficiency.

The intention of the PPJ 2014 is to make a comparative exploration of the various topics that define core procedural rights in contemporary justice systems, and to pinpoint what changes have been occurring in recent times, attempting to find common trends and to draw conclusions as to the possible further course of procedural transformations.

Among the desirable topics, the following are in particular on the agenda:

‐ What is happening to fundamental procedural guarantees in the area of civil justice? Are procedural human rights in the civil justice sector expanding, or are they shrinking?

‐ Should fair trial rights be redefined? Is it true that pressures of time, economy and inefficiency, coupled with the challenge of new technologies, justify significant departures from the conventional guarantees of the right to be heard and fully present one's case?

‐ What is the place of the right to a trial within reasonable time in contemporary judicial systems? Should there be a uniform European or global concept of 'reasonableness'? Are common standards in judicial time management feasible?

‐ What is the role of private justice in the context of access to justice? Should mediation and ADR enhance access to justice and replace access to courts wherever possible? Should alternative means of dispute resolution be a mandatory overture to civil litigation, which should remain only as 'ultimum remedium'?

‐ Can society afford unlimited access to civil courts? Are the doors of the courts too wide open, and should they be controlled by costs or cost‐related policies? Are increases in court fees a proper policy to enhance efficiency of justice?

‐ Can citizens afford judicial protection of their civil rights today? Are costs of civil proceedings disproportionate to gains? Should total costs of legal protection be controlled, and how? Should they be foreseeable? Are developments in the market of legal services hampering access to justice?

‐ What is the extent of the state obligation to guarantee access to justice in the civil sphere? What are the standards for national legal aid systems? Why are legal aid systems not converging? Why is the level of functionality of state‐supported systems of legal aid and assistance so different in Europe and the world?

Project DEECP: JUST/2011‐2012/JCIV/AG/3434
Dimensions of evidence in civil procedure
With financial support from the Civil Justice/Criminal Justice Programme of the European Union