mr president e-justice seems to have been very much at the centre of both the previous slovenian and french presidencies and we know that the coming czech presidency also wishes to continue the good work on e-justice
e-justice within this parliament and certainly within the committee on legal affairs also chimes in with the theme that we have long had close to our hearts that of access to justice and how we provide access to justice on a cross-border basis
it is hard enough to get access to justice even in a national context we think about access to lawyers about affordability about being able to understand or to comprehend the legal system
but put that into a european cross-border context with different legal cultures and languages and it becomes even more complex and difficult for our citizens to access
but we should be able to harness those difficulties and put them together with all the possibilities offered by modern technology
if europe is borderless so is the internet if languages are difficult technological tools now offer us the possibility of instant translation
we should be able to develop the technological possibilities to deliver better cross-border access to justice
it is clear that a number of our member states have seen the possibilities within their own borders and are developing their own systems
that is good also there is joint working on a number of projects some to provide linked-up registers to deal with businesses and land registries and again it is good
but for us as parliamentarians what we really want to see is something that delivers directly to our citizens and to their concerns about justice in their daily lives
we want europe's citizens to feel the difference of an e-justice project at european level
it appears that the work on the justice portal may do that it may give information about who what where which lawyers which interpreters where to get legal aid all sorts of information
the project is ambitious and it will need to be
but we do not want to just stop there at information
we would like to see the real possibility of access to cross-border justice online to see those european instruments of the payment order of small claims available to our citizens online
it is clear that some member states are working on joint projects and again it is good that we harness that enthusiasm and that ambition
however we also need the commission to keep the european context to keep it as a european ambition so that we move forward together in a coordinated way
that is why attached to parliament's report there is an action plan that brings out many of these themes
this could deliver our dream of a real europe of borderless justice
let us make it happen
