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Ministry of Justice Montenegro hosts conference on regional judicial c...
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Montenegro hosts conference on regional judicial cooperation and EU practices
Published on: Feb 26, 2012 • 4:44 AM Author: D. P.
Danilovgrad, Montenegro (24 February 2012) – Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with Institution Building Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement, hosts two-day conference entitled “Fight against organised crime – Regional cooperation and EU practice” in Danilovgrad.
The conference, attended by the delegations of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and the BENELUX countries, aims to introduce EU instruments related to international judicial cooperation in combating organised crime to justice ministries’ experts, judges and state prosecutors. Furthermore, the conference is to address bilateral extradition treaties and mutual legal aid in criminal matters of the Western Balkans' countries.
Achieving success in fighting organised crime requires cooperation and partnership. Montenegro is a signatory of all relevant international agreements on judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It has also signed bilateral extradition treaties with Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia and it has initiated the presigning process with the Eurojust, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Duško Marković said at the opening of the conference.
Judicial cooperation, together with police cooperation, represents the third pillar of the EU. Its practices and experience are of great importance for the Western Balkans countries. But, the instruments that the countries of the region already exercise can also be efficient if used in a proper manner and further improved, DPM Marković emphasised.
Extradition agreements, for instance, have proven to be a good tool in combating organised crime. If there are not such agreements, he continued, the institution of transfer of criminal persecution can be used instead. If there are court decisions against a national of other state, the recognition institution and execution of court decisions in the countries of a national’s origin can be also used.
Special attention in regional cooperation, in DPM Marković’s words, should be paid to the advancement of mutual legal aid, and unified and standardised judicial statistics.
The precondition for such approach is the existence of political will and strong determination for implementing laws, as well as close coordination of all judicial bodies, he concluded.
The conference, attended by the delegations of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and the BENELUX countries, aims to introduce EU instruments related to international judicial cooperation in combating organised crime to justice ministries’ experts, judges and state prosecutors. Furthermore, the conference is to address bilateral extradition treaties and mutual legal aid in criminal matters of the Western Balkans' countries.
Achieving success in fighting organised crime requires cooperation and partnership. Montenegro is a signatory of all relevant international agreements on judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It has also signed bilateral extradition treaties with Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia and it has initiated the presigning process with the Eurojust, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Duško Marković said at the opening of the conference.
Judicial cooperation, together with police cooperation, represents the third pillar of the EU. Its practices and experience are of great importance for the Western Balkans countries. But, the instruments that the countries of the region already exercise can also be efficient if used in a proper manner and further improved, DPM Marković emphasised.
Extradition agreements, for instance, have proven to be a good tool in combating organised crime. If there are not such agreements, he continued, the institution of transfer of criminal persecution can be used instead. If there are court decisions against a national of other state, the recognition institution and execution of court decisions in the countries of a national’s origin can be also used.
Special attention in regional cooperation, in DPM Marković’s words, should be paid to the advancement of mutual legal aid, and unified and standardised judicial statistics.
The precondition for such approach is the existence of political will and strong determination for implementing laws, as well as close coordination of all judicial bodies, he concluded.
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