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

OBJECTIVE: to establish an action programme to improve awareness of Community law for the legal professions (Robert Schuman Project) for the period 1998-2001. COMMUNITY MEASURE: European Parliament and Council Decision 1496/98/EC establishing an action programme to improve awareness of Community law for the legal professions. CONTENT: the project has been introduced for three years from 14 July 1998 and has a financial framework of ECU 5.6 million for this reference period. The Robert Schuman Project seeks to encourage and support initiatives to improve awareness of Community law for the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, i.e. judges, prosecutors and lawyers in the Member States. In particular, the 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, prosecutors and lawyers or future judges and lawyers; - encourage the development in the Member States of information resources (traditional or based on new information technologies) in Community law for judges, lawyers and prosecutors; - 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 at local, regional, national or Community level for the initial or continuing vocational training for young lawyers are eligible for support (the Decision 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 members of the legal professions; 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. 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 organisation of vocational training. Financial support is intended to complement national financing and not, under any circumstances, to generate any direct or indirect profit. Support will be awarded for a period of one or two years, although the beneficiary is required to continue its programme beyond the period of financing (provision is made for derogations in certain cases if the beneficiary faces financial or statutory difficulties). 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) and should be implemented in cohesion with other Community training or information initiatives. Provision is made for periodic monitoring and evaluation of the programme and for a report assessing its implementation after the first two years of application. ENTRY INTO FORCE: the programme will enter into force on 14 July 1998 for a period of three years.�