Sam Tanson, Luxembourg's Minister of Justice;
Credit: MJUST
Luxembourg's Minister of Justice, Sam Tanson, participated in the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council, held earlier today via videoconference on the topic of crisis coordination in the area of justice at the European Union (EU) level.
This informal videoconference brought together the EU Ministers of Justice for an exchange of "good practices in times of crisis". This exchanged focussed on the functioning of the judicial system and challenges in cross-border judicial cooperation, the suspension of enforcement and insolvency proceedings, procedural rights in criminal matters and the execution of detention sanctions in view of the current situation in penitentiary centres faced with the dangers of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Discussions also focussed on the rule of law and exceptional measures taken in the context of a state of emergency.
For her part, Sam Tanson stated: “I would like to point out that the emergency measures adopted by the Member States, including Luxembourg, must be temporary and strictly limited to what is necessary, proportionate and subject to regular analysis. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press must not be hindered by this measure. The rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights cannot be overlooked. Just as solidarity between Member States must not be compromised. For these reasons we support the initiative of the European Commission to supervise emergency measures and their application in order to guarantee the fundamental values of the European Union and to address the General Affairs Council if necessary".
