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Criminal Justice Project

Welcome to the Criminal Justice I project section!

"International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Practice, EAW and MLA simulations"

Project's aim

The achievement of a European area of criminal justice must be consolidated through the organisation of common training activities to promote mutual trust between the different judicial authorities. Ensuring trust and finding new ways to increase mutual understanding and interaction between the different systems in the Member States will thus be the main challenges for the future as set out in the Stockholm programme.

Within this context, the European dimension of this training activity will allow judges and prosecutorsto learn about the practical questions that arise under both their own legal system and the systems of their colleagues in other Member States while using the available EU tools in judicial cooperation.

Description of the activities

The training is based on an innovative approach relying on a "learn-by-doing" method. Through a simulation, participants face the progress of a case inspired from real facts and involving both national and cross border cooperation. This simulation calls for the use of EU mutual legal recognition instruments such as the European Arrest Warrant and the execution of orders freezing propoerties and evidence as well as instruments based on the principle of mutual legal assistance (MLA).

The seminars are made of three phases: the issuing phase, the executing phase and the debriefing.

The project's first phase

This first phase was implemented within a Framework Partnership Agreement with the European Commission which ended in September 2012.

Due to the very positive evaluations and feedbacks received from both the participants and the experts, EJTN will continue implementing this type of seminars in 2013.

Future seminars

A first seminar involving Finland, Sweden and Portugal will take place in Lisbon the 22-23-24 April 2013. For more information, see the Lisbon seminar page.

In addition, two seminars involving three main countries each are planned for 2013. The participating countries are Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain and Sweden.