EJTN 2012

ThemisThe main aim of the THEMIS project is tobring together future magistrates fromdifferent European countries at a time whenthey are undergoing entry-level training toenable them to share common values andto exchange new experiences and discussnew perspectives in areas of commoninterest. As such, THEMIS constitutes one ofEJTN’s main activities specifically addressedto initial judicial training.THEMIS develops abilities such ascommunication skills, debatingabilities, critical and analyticalthinking, logical reasoning andcorrect legal writing.The project also aims to develop abilitiesrelated to the future profession of theparticipants, such as communication skills,debating abilities, critical and analyticalthinking, logical reasoning and correctlegal writing.With this in mind, the event provides aunique opportunity for trainees to discusstheir own ideas on the chosen subjects withwell-known experts in an international forum.THEMIS is comprised of two different stages:the semi-finals and a Grand Final. The twosemi-final stages allow a maximum fieldof 17 teams each, with the winners andrunners-up of each category going on tocompete in the Grand Final.The THEMIS competition is based on thefollowing four categories or topics:International Cooperation in CriminalMattersInternational Judicial Cooperation inCivil MattersInterpretation and Application ofArticles 5 or 6 of the ECHRMagistrates’ Ethics and DeontologyThe Grand Final’s jury declares one of thecompeting teams as THEMIS winner andawards it a prize comprising of a study visitorganised by EJTN.The 2012 Grand Final, superbly hostedin France by the Ecole Nationale de laMagistrature, focused on the subject ofInternational Cooperation in CriminalMatters and was won by a teamrepresenting the Romanian NationalInstitute of Magistracy (NIM).A total of 33 participating teams from17 different countries attended thecompetition as well as two non-EU teamsfrom Turkey. The EJTN partners representedwere The Institut de Formation JuciaireIGO/IFJ (Belgium), the National Instituteof Justice (Bulgaria), the Judicial Academy27