The Preparatory Committee met on 24th and 25th of February 2016 and published today the report of their 14th meeting. Here is what the Committee agreed upon:
Rules:
The Committee agreed on the Rules governing the Registry of the UPC and the Rules of Procedure of the Advisory Committee.
The Committee however decided to come back to the Arbitration Rules and the Rules of Operation of the Arbitration and Mediation Centre at its next meeting in April.
The Protocol on Privileges and Immunities was agreed by the Committee. This is an important achievement especially since it is necessary for a number of Member States to conclude their national ratification processes.
Judiciary:
The Committee agreed, by vote, on the judges’ salaries.
The Committee is close to be able to launch the recruitment process for the UPC judges, thanks notably to the Human Resource and Training Working Group who presented a timeline and draft application. The Committee therefore decided to launch the recruitment process in Spring 2016 for the UPC to take shape before the start of the provisional application phase.
Fees:
The Committee agreed on the Rules for the Court Fees and Recoverable Costs, which it published together with the Guidelines (for the UPC judges) for the determination of the Court fees and Recoverable costs.
See our post on Monday for more details.