International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters

The international judicial cooperation in criminal cases is realised on the basis of interstate bilateral or multilateral agreements and the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights works in this case as a coordinating and mediating authority for the purpose of enforcing this cooperation. The provision of legal assistance (aid) of the judicial and prosecutorial authorities of the country to those of counterpart countries and vice versa occupies the larger part of the Cooperation. Particularly serious issue that is also set in the context of judicial cooperation is the extradition of wanted persons.

On the basis of Article K3 § 2 of the Treaty on European Union approved a European network of judicial contact with the Joint Action of 29 June 1998 by the EU Council. The purpose of the Network is to improve the judicial cooperation between the Member States, in particular as regards the fight against serious crimes such as the organized crime, the corruption, the drugs trafficking or the terrorism, which criminality occurs in the form of real organizations, often with transnational nature. The composition of the European Judicial Network includes basically the central authorities of each Member State which are responsible for the international judicial cooperation, the judicial authorities or the other competent authorities with specific responsibilities within the framework of international cooperation in general and for certain serious crimes. One or more links are adopted for each state. The operation of the European Judicial Network lies:

a) To facilitate appropriate contacts between the links of the Member States in order to: 1) facilitate the judicial cooperation, particularly in combating serious crimes, 2) provide the necessary legal and practical information to the judicial authorities of their country as well as to the links and to the local judicial authorities of other countries , and 3) to facilitate the coordination of judicial cooperation in cases where there are more applications for local judicial authorities of a Member State and require coordinated action in another Member State,

b) To organize periodic meetings of the representatives of the Member States and

c) To provide in a permanent basis some basic information (legal, practical, catalogs of judiciary authorities, etc.) which are adapted to current conditions, mainly through the appropriate telecommunications network.

To achieve the objectives of the network, the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights has designated as links judges and prosecutors of Appeal of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, clerks Prosecution Appeals of Athens, and employees of the Central Office of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights.

Eurojust established also with the decision of the Council of the European Union 28.02.02, with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious organized crime. Eurojust  is composed of one national member of each Member State, seconded to its headquarters, which has been provisionally designated to the Hague. The goals of the Unit is to promote and improve coordination between the competent authorities regarding investigations and prosecutions in the Member - States and where are involving at least two Member States, and to support in any way those principles in their work.

Eurojust shall discharge its tasks through its national members or as college and may ask the competent authorities of the Member States to consider the possibility  to make prosecutions, to establish joint investigative teams, etc.

Eurojust cooperates with other agencies such as Europol, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and may conclude cooperation agreements with authorities of third countries in order to improve judicial cooperation. Within this framework Eurojust cooperates closely with the European Judicial Network.

The added value of this unit is based on the existence of a centralized structure that can detect legal obstacles, delays in providing mutual legal assistance, and to coordinate ongoing investigations into serious organized crime. A prosecutor is set as a representative of our country in Eurojust.
Below there are tables of transnational contracts of judicial cooperation in criminal matters to which Greece is a party.