The Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) was established pursuant to Resolution No.1 on Measures to strengthen the independence and impartiality of judges in Europe, adopted by the 22nd Conference of European Ministers of Justice held in Chisinau (Moldova) on 17th and 18th June 1999.

As part of this resolution it was agreed to adopt a global action programme to strengthen the role of judges, which would need to be drafted in consultation with them, as well as the establishment, within the Council of Europe, of an advisory group composed of judges with a twofold purpose:

• Assist in the implementation of activities relating to the priorities identified in that programme.
• Advise the Steering Committees regarding the updating of the legal instruments of the Council of Europe.

All Member States of the Council of Europe are to be represented on the Committee with full voting and speaking privileges.The participation, without voting rights, of the European Commission and the Council of the Union, as well as observer and candidate countries, is also foreseen.

Under the terms of reference of the Council, the representatives need to be appointed from among serving judges who have extensive knowledge of their respective countries’ judicial systems, considering as positive the participation in the nomination process of the national body or authority responsible for ensuring the independence and impartiality of judges, wherever it may exist.

The Council was conceived as an advisory body to the Committee of Ministers, through the formulation of views on matters relating to the independence, impartiality and professional competence of judges, which could form the basis for the adoption of common initiatives within the latter.

The operation of the Council is governed by the terms of reference, updated every two years, established by the Committee of Ministers, which determines what type of activity has to be carried out and on what subjects.To this end, the Committee may establish working groups and seek specialist reports.

The Council has a President, who chairs the Plenary Sessions, and a Vice-President.The Secretariat is led by the Director of Legal Cooperation, within the Directorate General 1 (Legal Affairs) of the Council of Europe.This Secretariat is responsible for organising meetings of the Committee as well as the preparation of its tasks, together with the Working Group constituted for this purpose within the Committee.

The main visible result of the CCJE’s activity consists in the preparation, discussion and approval of reports at the annual Plenary Session.