The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized a national workshop in Rabat, Morocco, from 4 to 6 March 2015, under the framework of a UNODC Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) joint initiative funded by the European Union (EU).
This initiative, launched in June 2014, aims at strengthening the capacity of countries in the Maghreb region, especially Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, in investigating and prosecuting counter-terrorism cases while respecting human rights and the rule of law.
Twenty Moroccan specialized judges - mostly sitting judges and prosecutors, as well as law enforcement officers - together with seven international senior experts from France, Germany, Spain, the United States of America, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and participated in the workshop entitled "Challenges and Good Practices regarding the Adjudication of Terrorist Cases". The workshop was opened by the Deputy Chief of the EU Delegation in Morocco and several EU Member States representatives in Rabat participated in the sessions.
The objective of the workshop was to present to the Moroccan criminal justice and law enforcement officers relevant judicial frameworks, mechanisms, challenges and best practices in the area of the adjudication of terrorism cases.
Keynote speakers offered a comparative approach to the necessity of adapting the court composition in terrorist trials, by presenting relevant national and international experiences with regard to the specialization and training of judges and the specialization of national and international jurisdictions in terrorist matters, illustrated by several concrete cases.
A panel of experts analysed the challenges related to the security and protection of courtrooms and justice officials in terrorist cases, including the physical protection of trial premises and participants (victims, witnesses, jury, media) while maintaining respect for the rights of the defence and ensuring the proper conduct of the hearing.
Key elements of the workshop were the interactive discussions among experts and participants in order to exchange experience and good practices on the international dimension of terrorist trials. The role of international jurisdictions and international cooperation mechanisms, such as the transfer of sentenced persons and the remote hearing of witnesses, were addressed.
The discussions and presentations were illustrated by a video projection of excerpts of terrorist trials and a visit to Rabat's Court of Appeal where participants attended a terrorist trial.
Experts and participants then intensively discussed challenges, setbacks, good practices and areas of excellence highlighted during the visit. The Moroccan experience was presented in detail. Extended and in-depth debates took place discussing recommendations and possible solutions to key practical challenges faced by Moroccan judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers in light of the different experiences exposed.