The Chair of the e-Justice Working Group (Council of the European Union) Fernando Rui Paulino Pereira, kicked off the seminar with an inspirational presentation on the objectives, progress and implementation of the European e-Justice Portal. Subsequently other initiatives, projects and IT-based systems involved with the Portal explained how they improved the access to justice. There is a wide range of possibilities for justice systems using information technology including ECRIS (European Criminal Records Information System), The European Payment Order, The European Judicial Network ATLAS, Video conferencing facilities and PenalNet. There was also input from the aspect of European Data Protection.

EULIS was presented to the seminar participants, including a live demonstration of the service and an explanation of how EULIS fits in the context of European e-Justice. At the heart of EULIS’ vision is to increase access to justice for all through land registry information.

Representatives from the Spanish Association of Registrars will also take part in Project LINE and the Steering Committee to define a next generation platform for EULIS, which will be aligned with the European e-Justice Portal.

“We are extremely pleased to have the Spanish involved in EULIS and I firmly believe that they can make a significant contribution in Project LINE also” says Chairman of the EULIS board, Bengt Kjellson.

Almudena del Río Galán, Director of International Affairs at the Association of Registrars of Property, Commercial and Personal Property in Spain says:

“Our Corporation is very pleased and proud to be joining the EULIS community. We are very optimistic that Spanish Registrar’s contribution will provide tangible benefits to the community membership.”

She goes on to say that: “We’re particularly pleased to be teaming with the EULIS community to accelerate the rate of innovation and believe that this relationship will improve our common ability to share information and to collaborate with other European organisations such as ELRA. We also think that the collaboration will lead to an even broader range of applications and solutions and assist in the successful integration into the European e-Justice Portal.”

At the launch conference for Project LINE delegates discussed their requirements for the next generation EULIS 2.0 platform. The specifications rely on the involvement from Land Registry organisations and other key stakeholders such as the e-Justice Working Party to ensure alignment with the wider e-Justice programme.

The conference gathered together the community of official land registry organisations across 22 EU member states (including 24 land registry organisations). Other European organisations such as representatives of the European Council and ELRA also actively participated in the conference.

“The next generation EULIS platform will be aligned with the newly launched European e-Justice portal, which includes Land Register content and will give us future opportunities to bring more services and products to a European audience” said Bengt Kjellson, Chairman of Project LINE.

Funded by the European Commission’s (Directorate General Justice), Project LINE is being supported by the Civil Justice programme for a two-year period from 1 September 2010.

The aim of Project LINE is to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the e-Justice programme in the area of land registration. The Project will specify the requirements of the next generation EULIS portal with the input of as many European land registry organisations as possible.

All European Land Registry organisations have been invited to attend and get involved in Project LINE.
For further details please contact Sarah or Stefan..

‘This is a great step forward for all of our organisations’ says Bengt Kjellson, Chairman of EULIS. He goes on to say ‘it means that all the projects can benefit from a more unified approach and the land registry organisations can be confident that the projects will be mindful of one another’s scope and goals’.

“The Ministry of Justice is very pleased to have completed connection to EULIS’’ says EULIS service board member, Dr. Helmut Auer “we have already spoken to a number of bodies including the Chamber of Commerce, the Governing body representing Notaries and that representing Lawyers, who expressed their interest in the service.”

Customers looking from outside Austria into their registers can obtain unique information such as ownership of specific real estates, mortgages, servitudes and other data stored in the Austrian Land Book.

“More countries connecting to EULIS increases the choice in the service and we are in discussions with many more to improve the service for European professional customers” explains Sarah Long, EULIS marketing manager.

If you would like to ask any questions about land and property registers across Europe or alternatively, if you are in a land registry interested in getting involved, please contact us.

Following discussions with the European Commission (DG Justice and Home Affairs), the role EULIS will play in the e-Justice Portal has been defined and agreed in a formal statement found below.

‘EULIS is co-operating with the Council e-Justice Working Party and the European Commission (DG Justice and Home Affairs) on the development of the European e-Justice portal.

EULIS will be the solution for providing land registry information throughout Europe (direct register access and contact information). In line with the Council’s European e-Justice Action Plan (page 25), by the end of 2009, a link to EULIS will be established on the European e-Justice portal.

In the meantime, the Council e-Justice Working Party, the European Commission and EULIS are continuing the process of reflecting on the possibility for partial integration of EULIS into the portal.

The expertise of the land registry organisations involved in EULIS will further develop a service to the benefit of all users of land and property information in Europe.’

Bengt Kjellson, Chairman of the EULIS board, said “We welcome the link from the e-Justice Portal to EULIS, as it recognises the service we are already providing to enable cross-border land and property searches.” He went on to add “We are also looking forward to working with the e-Justice working party and the European Commission on possible partial integration in the future.”.

The response has been very positive and as a result the Country profiles for Slovenia and Latvia are already live on the map. EULIS is expecting many more profiles to be added and welcome the participation.

“It is important to build a full and accurate picture for citizens and professional users, who are trying to find the right contacts for land registration in other European countries” says Stefan Gustafsson, EULIS Managing Director. “The demand for this information is evident from customer enquiries we’ve received via our website” he adds.

The focus for EULIS is on professional customers in Europe and it aims to respond to their needs. Ideally EULIS would provide direct access to the register through the EULIS service, but at the very least country profiles give all visitors valuable and up-to-date information about the organisations and contact details.

If your details are not yet displayed on the map get in touch and help customers locate accurate details on land registries across Europe.

Contact us via the contact page if you would like to discuss further.

The development of an eDischarges capability by the PRA is central to the development of a national system of electronic registration of title (eRegistration). The launch of eDischarges will also mark the delivery of the first element of eConveyancing in Ireland.

Gabriel Brennan, Law Society eConveyancing Project Manager said “The Law Society is delighted to be involved in this exciting initiative and thanks the PRA staff and Irish Banking Federation (IBF)for working so closely with the legal profession on the design of this new system. As a result of this collaboration inefficiencies and delays in the release of registered charges will be eliminated. Also in conjunction with this project the Law Society and IBF have initiated a new streamlined procedure for requesting title deeds, redemption figures and discharge of a charge. Together these two initiatives represent significant reform of the conveyancing process. There remains, however, considerable work to be done to reach the ultimate goal of eConveyancing and the Law Society looks forward to building on this progress with the PRA and IBF in the coming years.”

Three lending institutions – Permanent TSB, AIB and KBC Bank – will launch the live system on the 30th March 2009 and, two weeks later on the 14th April, the system will be available to all lenders.

Pat Farrell, Chief Executive of IBF said “There was great appreciation amongst IBF members for the constructive nature of the working relationship with both the PRA and the Law Society. This dialogue has led to the first tangible milestone on the road towards a fully functioning eConveyancing system in Ireland. IBF welcomes the move towards a modern, paperless and streamlined conveyancing system. Ultimately, eConveyancing throughthe introduction of a technology driven process will benefit Irish consumers and other stakeholders in the form of enhanced consistency, transparency and reduction in time and costs. In the meantime, IBF looks forward to continued engagement with the PRA and Law Society to achieve further improvements to the conveyancing process.”

In response EULIS aims to display a profile for all European countries, so that customers can find correct land registry contact points and links to online services quickly and easily. By completing the map, EULIS hopes to give customers a clearer picture about land registration in Europe.

If your details are not yet displayed on the map get in touch and help customers locate accurate details on land registries across Europe.

Send your Country profile to sarah.long@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk so that your details can be online as soon as possible.

The new user-friendly web space is easy to navigate and aims to raise awareness of EULIS’ unique service with subscribed users of national land registries. “We would like to get a clear message about EULIS across to professional organisations and individuals such as banks, lenders, credit agencies, solicitors, legal professionals, estate agents, government departments and enforcement agencies.” says Sarah Long, EULIS Marketing Manager. “It is an exciting and unique service which could be valuable in cross border business activities.” she adds.

The website is one of the marketing channels used for raising awareness about EULIS with key customers. It also aims to help achieve full European coverage for the service by extending membership. Information for new European land registry organisations is offered such as how to join EULIS and who to contact for further information. European organisations have been keen to show their support for EULIS and its positioning as a natural part in EU cross border facilities.

Erskine Design was appointed as the agency to project-manage the redesign of the EULIS website and transform it to a more user-friendly web space.

The long term vision for EULIS is to help create an environment to facilitate cross border lending through direct access to property and land information across Europe.