§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on her policy towards paragraph 43 of the Laeken conclusions, on a European network for training magistrates. [39644]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Council document referred to was a discussion document prepared by the Belgian presidency in November 2001. It has been superseded by the presidency conclusions of the European Council in Laeken held on 14 and 15 December 2001.
The European judicial training network (EJTN) is a network of the national institutions responsible for judicial training in the member states of the European Union, set up by the institutions themselves. The Judicial Studies 1178W Board (which has responsibility for the training of judges in England and Wales) has been a member since its establishment in October 2000.
The Laeken conclusions refer to a proposal made by the French Government in December 2000 to put the network on a legal footing, enabling it to receive financial and administrative support from the European Commission. No discussions of this proposal are scheduled at present.