14-15 October 2020 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), within the framework of the EU-funded CRIMJUST Global Programme, presented the Introductory Course on Asset Forfeiture, available in E-Learning and B-Learning modalities, to the Supreme Court of Justice and the Attorney General's Office of Bolivia in the city of Sucre.
The asset forfeiture judicial action is a criminal public policy tool that seeks to prevent criminal organizations from enjoying proceeds of crime, as it allows States to recover assets of illicit origin or destination, regardless of any other judicial procedure. This legal action was incorporated in Bolivian legislation in 2017 through Law No. 913 on the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
This introductory course seeks to enhance judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials (as well as other relevant actors in the criminal justice system) understanding of asset forfeiture. It follows the delivery of an online workshop, in July 2020, on "ABC of Asset Forfeiture Action", attended by international and national experts and benefiting 250 public servants, including judges, prosecutors, police and representatives of the Financial Investigation Unit UIF and the General Directorate of Registration, Control and Administration of Seized Property DIRCABI.
As a result of this course and in coordination with academic institutions (School of Prosecutors, School of Judges and Police University), with the support of an expert in pedagogy, the course was designed and developed, which will be available on the online training platforms of the Schools of Judges, Prosecutors and Police University in the coming weeks.
Upon officially presenting this course to the School of State Prosecutors and to the Supreme Court of Justice on October 14th and October 15th respectively, UNODC Representative in Bolivia, Mr. Thierry Rostan, highlighted the importance of judicial officials holding a solid knowledge of asset forfeiture; its enforcement requiring practitioners to possess specific skills and knowledge, in addition to those traditionally assumed and used in the criminal justice system.
Mr. Thierry Rostan also stressed the importance of UNODC technical assistance in developing a national policy framework to combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, thanks to the ongoing support of the European Union.
After thanking UNODC and CRIMJUST for their support in strengthening Bolivia’s justice institutions, national authorities underscored the great contribution provided by this course in institutionalization justice services and reaffirmed the importance of strengthening the fight against transnational organized crime.
This CRIMJUST initiative was funded by the European Union under the framework of the "Global Illicit Flows Programme" [GIFP]). It seeks to enhance law enforcement and judicial counter-narcotic strategies beyond interdiction activities and to foster transnational responses targeting each stage of the drug supply chain.
For more information about this course, please see here.
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