Transcript EUROJUST - An Overview Background, Structure and Work

ENSURING SUCCESSFUL
PROSECUTIONS
(THE EU-PERSPECTIVE/
ADDED VALUE OF EUROJUST)
Michèle Coninsx
Vice-President Eurojust
National Member for BE, Deputy Prosecutor General
Liverpool, March 4th 2008
EUROJUST ?
27 EU PROSECUTORS / JUDGES
More Effective Co-ordination & Co-operation
AIMS
 Improve co-operation between Competent
Authorities in Member States
 Bring better co-ordination of cross-border
investigations and prosecutions
 Exchange of information
 To make recommendations to change laws
to improve MLA & Extradition arrangements
JUDICIAL CO ORDINATION OFFERS FORUM
FOR:
 Discussion about admissibility of evidence
 Verification of opportunity to launch
simultaneous evidence gathering
 Discussion about appropriate or best
jurisdiction
 Verification of opportunity to establish a JIT
 Information of practitioners about best
channels / instruments of the obtainment of
evidence
2 CASE ILLUSTRATIONS
- OPERATION KOALA
- OPERATION SKANDERBEG
OPERATION KOALA
• AIM
to present Eurojust’s involvement and added
value in a case concerning child abuse on
the internet
• STRUCTURE
- Background
- Coordination meetings at Eurojust
- Obstacles encountered
- Joint press release and Results
- Future of the case
BACKGROUND
• Video tape containing child pornographic
material
linked to Belgium
• Persons involved:
- Belgian father abused his 2 daughters
- Italian national was photographer & video producer
(had a studio in Ukraine and owned a website for child
pornographic purposes)
- US citizens were customers/clients
- Many customers through internet
Investigations started in Belgium and Italy
COORDINATION MEETINGS
AT EUROJUST IN CLOSE COLLABORATION
WITH EUROPOL
• 25 October 2006
• 25 April 2007
• 29 May 2007
• 5 November 2007: coordination meeting
& joint press release
Coordination of investigations
Simultaneous, coordinated actions in all countries
involved
Exchange of information: gathering of sufficient
information for prosecution
COORDINATION MEETINGS
AT EUROJUST
• MAIN DECISIONS:
- Time frame for investigations/actions
May ’07 – Sept. ’07
- Identification of targets
- Arrests
- Interrogations of suspects
- Seizures
- Common media strategy
OBSTACLES ENCOUNTERED
• Deadline for finalising the common actions had to
be postponed
• Some countries did not finish their investigations
and therefore could not be in the joint press
release
• Some countries did not want to be in the joint
press release
• Leakages to the media before joint press
conference
• Information received by EJ & EP was not always
coinciding
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
AND RESULTS
• Newspapers, radio, TV from at least 15
different countries + press agencies
following 3 days worldwide coverage of the case
• 16 countries provided results to the press:
- 2500 targets identified
- 93 arrests until November 5th
- Thousands of videos and photos found
- Hundreds of computers seized
OPERATION SKANDERBEG
• FACTS
- Transnational Albanian criminal network
- Operating in BE, DE, FR, IT, LU, AT, NL, UK
- Involved in drug trafficking, trafficking in
human beings, prostitution, money laundering,
trafficking in illegal arms and stolen vehicles,
organised burglaries
• ACTIONS
- Facilitation of execution of letters of request (LOR)
- 2 coordination meetings:
- exchange of information
discovering of central
role of certain persons in drug traffic
- close involvement of Europol
coordinated
approach police investigations & prosecutions
- simultaneous actions in 6 countries
- Joint EJ – EP press release
• OUTCOME
- Destabilisation of the group in BE
- Decrease of organised thefts & cocaine seizures at border
- Arrests
- Seizures of drugs, weapons, money, stolen objects
ADDED VALUE OF EUROJUST
• Exchange of information/LOR’s: quick, time saving
• Coordinating actions in several countries
• International cooperation (multilateral):
forum bringing together all involved parties (prosecutors,
police authorities, investigators, Europol,…)
• Better overview/more information for prosecution
• Common media strategy:
avoid jeopardising ongoing investigations
Michèle Coninsx
Vice-President
Belgian National Member
EUROJUST
Tel 00 31 70 412 51 20
Fax 00 31 70 412 51 21
[email protected]
Maanweg 174
NL - 2516 AB The Hague
The Netherlands
www.eurojust.europa.eu