CTED and UNODC co-organize regional meeting on effective international judicial cooperation

BMUSONI — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:07:00 +0000

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Already in 2013, the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the 51�Թ� Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a process that focused on effective so-called central authorities in requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. A central authority is an agency or organization that is designed to play a key facilitating role in the implementation and operation of international judicial cooperation. Since then, two regional gatherings have been held on this theme, with a third meeting recently arranged in Asia.

From 7 to 9 November 2017, CTED and UNODC co-organized a regional meeting for South and South-East Asian countries on international judicial cooperation in terrorist cases, including cases involving foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). This follows the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 2322 (2016), which reiterated the importance of international cooperation, and reminded Member States of the critical role played by central authorities in this respect.

Held in Kandooma, and hosted by the Government of the Maldives, the regional meeting’s opening remarks were delivered by the Minister of Defence and National Security, Honourable Adam Shareef Umar. Participants discussed challenges and possible solutions, including on the collection of digital evidence, and were requested to identify priority actions to be taken by their respective governments. Funded by the Governments of Canada and Japan, the regional meeting saw the participation of experts from Australia, Canada, and the United States, as well as representatives from INTERPOL, the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP), and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

An outcome document is in the process of being processed; it will be posted here as soon as it is available.

Front Page Article:

Regional conference in Vilnius stresses the crucial need for effective international judicial cooperation in terrorism-related cases

BMUSONI — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 19:11:00 +0000

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Building Effective Central Authorities for International Judicial Cooperation in Terrorism Cases, a regional conference run by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with substantive expert support of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the 51�Թ� Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC/TPB), was held in Vilnius (Lithuania) on 25-27 November 2014.

The transnational nature of terrorism, like all transnational organized crime, poses serious challenges for national justice systems. Creating effective central authorities to channel international cooperation in criminal matters is an essential element of the efforts made by States to bring terrorists to justice in an effective and timely manner. The ability to promptly request and provide extradition and mutual legal assistance (MLA) in criminal matters is particularly important in terrorism cases.

Practitioners from 12 countries (Eastern and Central Europe, Caucasus, and Turkey), experts from international and regional organizations, as well as guest experts from Belgium, Israel, and Switzerland, took part in the event. All countries covered by the conference have designated at least one central authority responsible for handling MLA and extradition requests. In most cases, the central authority is the Ministry of Justice, or the Office of the Prosecutor General. In some circumstances, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also involved in the proceedings. Most countries have more than one central authority competent depending on whether the request is made at the investigative / pre-trial stage or when the case is already before a court or a judgement has been rendered. Some but not all States have different central authorities for MLA and extradition requests, respectively. In addition, in some States, the procedures require an intermediary department, which receives and then forwards the requests to the executing agency.

Having discussed various challenges and good practices encountered in the context of regional and external cooperation in criminal matters, and in particular terrorism related cases, the representatives of national delegations suggested a number of recommendations and ways to improve their existing mechanisms. These included the creation and use of informal networks and bilateral discussions prior to sending formal requests; increasing the number of bilateral and multilateral agreements; adhering to flexible approaches; the use of follow-up procedures; making guidance and standard forms available to foreign counter-parts in several languages. INTERPOL presented information about new tools being developed to facilitate and speed up the transmission of MLA and extradition requests. Specifically with regards terrorism cases, participants discussed challenges related to MLA and extradition requests involving refugees and the cooperation in countering and preventing the foreign terrorist fighters phenomenon.

This regional conference was the third meeting to be organized within the framework of a global three-year joint project of the UNODC/TPB and CTED on building effective central authorities for international judicial cooperation in terrorism cases. Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and subsequent resolutions, including resolution 2178 (2014), require that States afford one another the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal investigations or criminal proceedings relating to the perpetration, financing, or support of terrorist acts, including assistance in obtaining evidence in their possession necessary for the proceedings, and investigations or proceedings involving foreign terrorist fighters.

More information about the workshop is available at here

Front Page Article:

Security Council - Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) - central authority

CTED and UNODC co-organize regional meeting on effective international judicial cooperation

maldives_international_judicial_coop_7_9_nov_2017.jpg

Regional conference in Vilnius stresses the crucial need for effective international judicial cooperation in terrorism-related cases

1127.jpg