Findex II Consensus Conference in Cologne

The consensus conference of the Find an Expert II project was held at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne on 2 June 2023 in the presence of Dr Bernd Scheiff, President of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, “a fervent supporter of international exchanges and European cooperation”. The aim of the day was to present the results of the work carried out between March 2022 and May 2023 at a public meeting.

Opening speech by Dr Bernd Scheiff, President of the Cologne Higher Regional Court

Opening speech by Wolfgang Jacobs, German lawyer, Project leader

Wolfgang Jacobs recalls the objectives of the European project Findex 2, organised by the European Expert and Expertise Institute (EEEI) and EuroExpert, the European Organisation for Expert associations, at the Higher Regional Court in Cologne: to establish the legal and professional foundations for the creation of a European directory of judicial experts. “This directory will be useful not only for the cooperation between courts and other judicial institutions in the European countries, but will also enable private consumers and anyone involved in legal and economic activities to find qualified experts.”

Presentation of the different work packages

The various work packages are then presented by their managers.

Work package 2

Work Package 2 focuses on the convergence of national registers of experts. It comprises 3 working groups:

WP2 – WG1 – Definition of criteria for judicial experts, led by Verena Wirwohl
WP2 – WG2 – Definition of standards to be met by bodies in charge of Expert directories, led by Rafa Orellana de Castro
WP2 – WG3 – Requirements for experts to be registered in and stay on a directory, led by Benoit de Clerck and Sascha Dalen Gilhuijs.

Work package 3

Work package 3 is focused on the convergence of Member States’ nomenclature of expert specialities. This should lead to the definition of a process enabling the existence and maintenance of a common nomenclature of areas of expertise in the European Union. It is led by Jan Wannenmacher and Bertrand Ludes.

Work Package 4

Work package 4 is responsible for creating a demonstration IT tool with the six pilot Member States (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, and Romania). The aim is to interconnect the national directories and set up a European search engine for judicial experts. Additional work is underway to ensure the sustainability of the tool and the project. The project is led by Pawel Rybicki and Jean-Raymond Lemaire.

The jury introduces itself

The conference was made in the presence of the members of the jury. The jury, made up of various players from the judicial world, is tasked with drafting recommendations based on the output produced by work packages 2 and 3. These recommendations will also be based on the experience of each of the members of the jury, ensuring that they are compatible with practical realities.