International justice as a response to global threats: the key role of public technical co-operation

Every 17 July is the World Day of International Justice. Beyond the date, it is a call for global action. To this end, we reflect on the relevance of international cooperation in the field of justice with justice specialists from two actions funded by the European Union and implemented by FIAP.

We started the conversation with Marta Pizarro Mayo, magistrate and leading expert for judicial and prosecutorial affairs of the European project to support Serbia in the area of justice, freedom and security, focusing on the protection of the rule of law, the fight against organised crime, freezing and confiscation of criminal assets, sums it up as follows:

“Cooperation in the area of justice is fundamental. It is essential to ensure that the most serious crimes do not go unpunished, because in a world like ours, so interconnected, so globalised, no country can face the challenges of international justice alone. Thus, in short, collaboration between states, international organisations and the various actors in civil society makes it possible to share information, coordinate actions and ensure, in short, that justice is truly global”.

In this context, public technical cooperation projects, such as those implemented by FIAP, become essential instruments. Based on the work carried out in the project, he adds:

“In the field of international justice, Serbia has been working for years and facing challenges very similar to those faced in other regions of the Balkans. These challenges ultimately include the need to ensure respect for the rule of law, the need to address the endemic problems of corruption and the essential need to strengthen instruments to fight serious and organised crime”.

Thanks to international cooperation and the realisation of these circumstances, it is possible to connect distant regions affected by similar problems, such as the Balkans and Latin America, and to implement concrete actions against phenomena such as drug trafficking, corruption and international criminal networks.

In the field of justice, international cooperation not only facilitates the exchange of evidence or the extradition of criminals. It also generates something as fundamental as trust between judicial systems. In the words of Marta Pizarro: ‘The use of these instruments not only makes the prosecution of crimes more effective, but also strengthens, and this is important, the trust between the judicial systems of different countries’.

From another latitude, in the Latin American region, Borja Jiménez Muñoz, prosecutor and expert of the European Union’s programme to strengthen the fight against organised crime, EL PACCTO 2.0, stresses that the global dimension of today’s crimes demands a coordinated response: ‘Nowadays, any criminal activity of medium importance has international links, justice at the international level is truly indispensable and obligatory’.

Delving into what unites the judicial systems of the Balkans and Latin America and answering why it is important to join forces, he explains:

“The common threats are fundamentally in drug trafficking, the existence of gangs and organised criminal groups that commit crimes on both sides due to the very nature of where the drugs are generated and where they are transmitted and sold. This implies that there are common threats in both regions and that there is a series of crimes, let’s say complementary, that are committed by these gangs and that affect both regions”.

Therefore, in the face of organised crime that permeates borders and to which legality poses few challenges, coordinated responses and more effective and efficient instruments are required. To this end, it is necessary to raise awareness, activate, train and, of course, for the Prosecutor’s Office to take the decision to cooperate, he adds.

Moreover, cooperation projects bring lasting benefits not only for the institutions to which they are destined, but also for those who participate in them. As Borja Jiménez explains: ‘The people who are working there [professionals from the Spanish judiciary and public prosecutor’s office] bring with them an important background, which is the relationship with different contexts’. This “soft effect” helps to build networks of trust and collaboration that go beyond the project itself.
When justice systems work together, the impact is tangible: joint investigations, asset recovery and effective apprehension of criminals. In addition to the importance of strengthening and ratifying international treaties, the role of liaison figures, such as liaison magistrates, is also relevant to foster the exchange of information, as well as understanding and knowledge between different justice systems. As Borja Jiménez points out: ‘Working together means success and, above all, and very importantly, that assets can be recovered, which is what hurts criminal gangs’.

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