Open AccessCOVID-19 and the Courts. The case of the CJEU
Author(s) -
Costas Popotas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
access to justice in eastern europe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2663-0583
pISSN - 2663-0575
DOI - 10.33327/ajee-18-3.2-3-n000033
Subject(s) - covid-19 , pandemic , economic justice , european union , political science , crisis management , constitutional court , law , business , outbreak , medicine , virology , international trade , constitution , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The article describes the generally positive experience of Court of Justice of the EuropeanUnion in managing the Covid-19 crisis. Before the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis the Courthad established an effective structure to cope with risks and issues related to pandemics.It benefited from an extensive migration to a modern computer operating system andthe replacement of traditional desktop computers by portable devices capable of remotelyconnecting to the Court’s network. Appropriate teleworking and extensive dematerialisationand simplification of standard administrative procedures took place and proved theireffectiveness. The disruptive dimensions of COVID-19 pandemic forced the CJEU to acceleratetransformations – not only digital but managerial and judicial processes The author analysesseveral phases of organising the functioning of the Court during the pandemic and comes tothe conclusion that that the Court proved to be well prepared to tackle the issues raised bythe COVID-19 pandemic. However, the quest of the future organisation will also have to domore with smart management and the new modes of working.Keywords: Justice, Court Administration, COVID-19, CJEU.