Exchanges

Exchanges in courts, prosecution offices and judicial training institutions of the EU Member States allow participants to learn about the judicial system of the host country, attend court hearings, and exchange views and expertise with their peers. Exchanges are designed to foster mutual trust and understanding, and build a feeling of belonging to a common judicial area among the EU judiciary.

To learn more about the EJTN exchanges, watch our informational video here

  • General exchanges

    • General overview of the judicial system
    • 5 working days
    • Group & Individual
    • 25 Countries
    • Judges, Prosecutors, Court/Prosecution Staff
  • Specialised exchanges

    • Focused on a specific area of law
    • 3 working days
    • Group & Individual
    • 18 Countries
    • Judges, Prosecutors, Court/prosecution staff
  • Judicial leaders exchanges

    • Focused on court management & leadership
    • 3 working days
    • Individual & Group
    • 20 Countries
    • Court Presidents, Chief Prosecutors, Court staff managers
  • Trainers exchanges

    • Focused on methodology
    • 3 to 5 working days
    • Group & Individual
    • 15 Countries
    • Judicial Trainers, Court Staff Trainers

General exchanges

In a General exchange, judges, prosecutors and court/prosecution staff have the unique opportunity to actively explore another judicial culture by being hosted for 5 working days in the court or prosecution office of another EU Member State.

After an introduction to the judicial system of the host country, the participant is immersed into the daily work of a national court or prosecution office. The exchange format offers room for discussions, debates, and networking with fellow foreign judges, prosecutors and court staff.

Through visits in high-level institutions of the host country and meetings with other professionals such as law enforcement or civil society, participants get a comprehensive overview of the work of a judge, prosecutor or court staff in another country.

Every year, many places are offered in the participating EU Member States and published during the call for applications. Those places are defined by country, target audience and language.

Specialised exchanges

Through a specialised exchange, judges, prosecutors and court/prosecution staff extend their expertise in a specific area of law in a court or prosecution office of another EU Member State. Various specialisations are offered each year in various EU Member States:

  • Anti-corruption
  • Asylum-Refugee law
  • Counter-terrorism
  • Cybercrime
  • Data protection
  • Digitalisation of justice
  • Domestic violence
  • Environmental law
  • Family law
  • Financial crime
  • Hate crime
  • Insolvency proceedings
  • Intellectual property law
  • Juvenile law
  • Labour law
  • Mediation
  • Organised crime
  • Tax law

Every year, many places are offered in the participating EU Member States and published during the call for applications. Those places are defined by country, specialisation, target audience, language and length.

Judicial leaders exchanges

Focusing on issues such as media and influence on jurisdiction, digitalisation of justice, human ressources, financial and budget management or sustainable management, judicial leaders exchanges allow court presidents, chief prosecutors and court/prosecution staff managers to shape their leadership and management skills.

Every year, many places are offered in the participating EU Member States and published during the call for applications. Those places are defined by country, target audience and language.

Trainers exchanges

The Trainers exchanges at EJTN are a unique occasion for judicial trainers to exchange experiences with their peers across Europe on recent developments and best practices in judicial training.

During 3 or 5 working days, participants actively explore other judicial training cultures and learn about training methodologies, pedagogical tools, and training initiatives developed by the host country.

Upon their return, they are encouraged to implement new techniques they discovered and share knowledge gained with their colleagues.

The exchange follows specific objectives and guidelines developed at EJTN, in particular the EJTN Judicial Training Principles and the European standards on judicial training – European Commission’s Pilot Project JUST/2012/JUTR/PR/0064/A4 on European Judicial Training.

Every year, many places are offered in the participating EU Member States and published during the call for applications. Those places are defined by country, target audience, language and length.

Application

Interested in an exchange?

The call for applications for exchanges will be opened from 1st September to 15 October (18:00, Brussels time) on the EJTN Exchange Programme platform, for exchanges to be implemented in 2026.

Applicants are preselected by the EJTN Members and Associate Members. Preselected applications are then submitted to the EJTN secretariat which proceeds to the allocation based on the available places in the host institutions.

Check open applications