On 4-6 June 2024 in Vienna (Austria), the UNODC Global Programme on Criminal Network Disruption (GPCD) through the Judicial Cooperation Network for Central Asia and Southern Caucasus (CASC), together with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), co-organized a workshop to strengthen skills of practitioners from Central Asia on Joint Investigation Teams (JITs), one of the most advanced tools used in international cooperation in criminal matters. This workshop aimed at promoting the use of JITs in Central Asia by sharing expertise, best practices and challenges encountered when setting up and operationalizing JITs to carry out transnational criminal investigations.
Despite applying for mutual legal assistance tool to tackle transnational organized crime, various factors, including but not limited to differences in laws and legal standards, make such international cooperation in criminal matters for mutual legal assistance (MLA) too often a complex and cumbersome process, which might take several months if not years to be executed. “In pursuit of Article 19 of UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) are the most appropriate instrument for criminal justice officials in participating countries to overcome the abovementioned challenges and to investigate and prosecute criminals who are active in another country” shared Mr. Jeremy Douglas, Chief of the Office of the Director-General/Executive Director and Strategy Advisor to the Executive Director of UNODC in Vienna, in the welcoming remarks.
“Replacing traditional mutual legal assistance with mutual recognition instruments has been a real game changer” explained Mr. Jose de la Mata, National Member for Spain at Eurojust, opening the event. Made up of prosecutors and law enforcement authorities as well as judges, JITs are established for a fixed period, typically between 12 and 24 months, such as is necessary to reach successful conclusions to investigations. Providing operational, legal and financial supports to JITs is a key part of Eurojust’s mission, together with enabling access to the expertise of the JITs Network, a network of relevant national experts, who encourage and promote best practice in the use of JITs. JITs are increasingly recognized by practitioners from EU Member States as a valuable option for judicial cooperation with non-EU States.
Participants in the workshop gathered representatives from central authorities and prosecutors responsible for international cooperation in criminal matters from Central Asia together with seconded experts from EU Member States to Eurojust and UNODC experts. The workshop also benefited from the participation of international experts from Georgia and Brazil, which gave an opportunity to extend and strengthen collaboration beyond the region.
During the workshop, participants gained knowledge and practical skills on the role and establishment of JITs in collaborative law-enforcement efforts, including with the use of real cases scenarios. Practical aspects related to the operation of JITs including the development of investigative strategies, resource allocation and coordination of activities among JIT members were discussed, as well as challenges and difficulties encountered, such as language barriers, cultural differences, and divergent legal systems, as well as strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
Dedicated sessions focused on the collection of evidence within the JITs and admissibility of evidence, closure and evaluation of the JIT, the importance of national legal frameworks in the successful application of JITS and substantial tips and recommendations, as well as successful examples and best practices of JIT operations. Cooperation requirements with Eurojust and European Judicial Network (EJN)’s tools for easier cooperation and their practical application were also shared, as well as key learnings from JITs implementation in Brazil and Latin America. CASC activities and support of the network in the field of JITs were discussed as well as needs of Central Asian countries in the field of JITs.
This workshop was made possible with the support of the United States Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL).