Judges from European supreme administrative courts convene in Inari, Finland

Judges from the Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union (ACA-Europe) have gathered for a seminar and annual meeting in Inari, Finland, on 26 – 28 May 2024. The seminar is being held on the topic of realisation of fundamental rights in a multilevel system consisting of international human rights conventions, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the national constitutions of each ACA-Europe member state.

On the first day of the event, judges from ACA-Europe member states learned about climatic and environmental issues in the Arctic area in a symposium organised together with the Sámi Parliament of Finland.

The keynote speaker of today's member seminar, Niilo Jääskinen, Judge of the European Court of Justice, will discuss the effect of the basic principles of EU environmental law on the responsibilities and obligations of national administrative courts on the basis of the most recent legal practice of the European Union.

The main focus of the seminar is on examining the results of the extensive survey conducted for the event. The survey addressed the practices of ACA-Europe member courts in the application of national constitutional frameworks of fundamental rights, as well as the pluralist framework of European fundamental rights protection.

The three-day event consists of a meeting of the Board of ACA-Europe, the jurisprudential member seminar and a general meeting, as well as separate activities such as becoming acquainted with local culture and nature.

A total of approximately 60 chief justices, chairs and judges from member courts of ACA-Europe will take part in the event.

What is ACA-Europe?

The objective of ACA-Europe (Association of Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union) is to promote understanding of European law by administrative judges and knowledge of the functioning of the supreme administrative courts of Europe. ACA-Europe organises seminars and conducts research on case-law. The activities of ACA-Europe are partially financed by the European Commission.

The two-year presidency of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, which started in June 2023, will focus on dialogue between the national supreme administrative courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union and analysis of national impacts of decisions by the European Court of Human Rights.

Contact details:
Jaana Lappalainen, Head of Communications, Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, tel. +358 (0)50 308 7574, email: firstname.m.lastname@oikeus.fi

Published 27.5.2024