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This article illustrates how benchmarking has been used strategically by European actors to strengthen their position in the field of justice policy and to increase their capacity to influence change at national level. Overcoming the initial reluctance of the Member States, the Commission has succeeded in enlarging its competences and extending its authority and expertise in the field of judicial policy and organisation. The change in the modes of governance of justice in the countries of the European Union is materialised by the tools for comparing the effectiveness and quality of justice in European countries, developed from the early 2000s. The new mode of governance relies on the diagnosis of problems on the one hand, and the mobilisation of European resources by the Member States on the other.