What is the state of the rule of law across the European Union's 27 member states? The European Commission tackles that question every year by presenting a report that looks at each country in turn. Luxembourg once again received a very positive assessment this year, with the independence of the judiciary sitting at a very high level. As always, however, there remains room for improvement. The report was presented to the relevant parliamentary committees on Monday morning, though, as Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) MP Yves Cruchten regretted, no genuinely substantive debate took place.
The committee, Cruchten said, had essentially been read the report and little more had happened. There had been no scope for a real discussion, since no government representative had been present, neither a minister nor an official with whom MPs could have exchanged views. The report was, in fact, very positive for Luxembourg, though it did contain recommendations for improvement, in particular around digitalisation. It also pointed to what everyone knew to be the case, namely the slow pace of the judicial system in certain areas. As he put it, however, none of that could be discussed with anyone from the government on the day, since no one from the executive had turned up.
Christian Social People's Party (CSV) MP Laurent Mosar, chair of the parliamentary Justice Committee, did not share that criticism, noting that government members were frequently absent from committee meetings. As for the sometimes slow proceedings, he acknowledged that these were a real problem, though solutions were being worked on.
Part of the answer, in Mosar's view, lies in the digitalisation of the judicial system, an area where work is currently moving forward proactively and positively, even if the goal has not yet been reached. The question of administrative courts was also raised, and a number of initiatives are under way there too, including the creation of new chambers for asylum procedures, which are currently a factor in the long processing times. That, he added, was also a step in the right direction.
Democratic Party (DP) MP Simone Beissel places most of the responsibility for the lengthy delays on the previous government.
There are, she said, more and more regulations, and, as she likes to put it, legislation creates the offence. Case numbers are on the rise, and there are clearly not enough judges to keep up. Judges also need to be trained, and, without wishing to criticise directly, it seems the previous government did not recruit enough staff to keep pace with the explosion of cases. Now, she added, catching up is proving difficult, and cases are facing ever longer delays.
It is worth noting that under the three-party coalition of the DP, LSAP and Greens, the Ministry of Justice was in Green hands for ten years.
Since no government representative attended the meeting, the session was brief, lasting only around 40 minutes. A short exchange did take place on public procurement legislation. Marc Goergen of the Pirate Party criticised the lack of consequences when the law is not followed, pointing to a recent example in the municipality of Pétange, in Rodange, where a car park worth €8 to €9 million is being built without a proper prior process.
All the Home Affairs Minister has done, Goergen said, is to wag a finger and send a letter. He had, that same morning, received a parliamentary answer that in his view was laughable, essentially telling him not to look any further into the file. That, he argued, was precisely one of the problems in Luxembourg. When incidents like these came to light, there had to be consequences, and the authorities could not look the other way. That, he said, had been the discussion that morning. While other parties had suggested that public procurement laws might be overly strict, the Pirates took a different view, especially when looking at other projects, whether those be around Foetz slip road, the tram or the GRIDX.
On this point, however, the Pirates largely stood alone. Representatives from the other parties simply laughed.
