Legal professions : action programme Robert SCHUMAN, project to improve awareness of Community law

OBJECTIVE : the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision seeks to establish an action programme to improve awareness of Community law for the legal professions (Robert Schuman Project) for the period 01/01/1997 to 31/12/1999. SUBSTANCE : the Robert Schuman Project seeks to: - encourage the launch of practical training initiatives in Community law in the Member States (initial or continuing training) by bodies responsible for training judges and lawyers or future judges and lawyers; - encourage the development, in the Member States, of information resources (traditional or based on new communication and information technology) in Community law for judges and lawyers; - support initiatives likely to facilitate implementation of the above two forms of support, complement them or enhance their impact. To achieve these objectives the programme comprises three specific sub-parts intended for support for training, information and accompanying projects. The institutions responsible in the Member States for the initial or continuing vocational training for young judges or lawyers are eligible for support (the proposal gives a list of the institutions concerned). The projects are to be selected on the basis of the following criteria: practical use of the measures, their accessibility to the greatest possible number of judges and lawyers, adjustment to constraints of professional practice and cost-effectiveness. Complementary optional criteria such as the inter-professional or cross-border dimension of measures will also be taken into account. It should be noted that the programme is intended to support and complement the activities of the Member States while respecting their responsibility for the definition of the content and organization of vocational training. The Robert Schuman Project should also complement other Community programmes such as LEONARDO (professional training), the Jean Monnet project (development of teaching on European integration) and GROTIUS (exchanges for legal practitioners). Budget : 5.6 Mecus.