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Tuesday, 21 February 2023

Joint Training Session for Judicial Officials on Trafficking of Drugs, Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants

Eurojust Joint Training on Drugs and Human Trafficking for Judges and Prosecutors of South Mediterranean Countries and EU Member States

On February 21-24, 2023, at its premises in Athens, the EPLO organized a Joint Training Session for Judicial Officials on Trafficking of Drugs, Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants, in the framework of the Eurojust EuroMed Justice Programme.

The Training Session was attended by 21 high-level Judges and Prosecutors from South Mediterranean Countries and European Union Member States, specifically: Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Morocco.

The objective of the training was to promote and improve judicial cooperation among EU Member States and South Mediterranean Countries in investigating and prosecuting crimes of trafficking of narcotics, human beings and smuggling of migrants, which are typically transnational and have become increasingly important in the Mediterranean region.

With the facilitation of international experts, the participating Judicial Officials analysed trends and challenges in the prosecution of these crimes and worked together on practical case studies in order to identify best practices and solutions to improve international cooperation. The training addressed topics such as mutual legal assistance for gathering of critical evidence, special investigative techniques, tracking and recovery of criminal assets, and arresting defendants abroad.

The session was attended by Mr. Alexandru Frunza-Nicolescu, Legal Officer of the EuroMed Justice Programme, who pointed out that: “The training was designed and delivered in a format that facilitated the sharing of practices and experience between the participant prosecutors and judges from EU and MENA and the experienced trainers. It also represented a good opportunity for networking and creating paths for future cooperation. Congratulations to all participants, trainers and organisers for their great engagement and contribution.”

The EPLO and Fondazione SAFE consortium are implementing the Training Component of the Eurojust EuroMed Justice (EMJ) Programme, which involves the organization of 21 training sessions for over 400 Judges and Prosecutors.

The EMJ is a capacity-building programme designed to develop a sustainable cross-regional mechanism of judicial cooperation in criminal matters between EU Member States and Partner Countries of the South Mediterranean (https://euromedjustice.eu).

tags: Eurojust EuroMed Justice (EMJ) Programme, Training, DrugTrafficking, Human Trafficking, Migrants' smuggling, Fondazione SAFE

oint Training Session for Judicial Officials on Trafficking of Drugs, Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants
oint Training Session for Judicial Officials on Trafficking of Drugs, Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants
oint Training Session for Judicial Officials on Trafficking of Drugs, Human Beings and Smuggling of Migrants