4th regional Forum on judicial cooperation held in Budva, MNE

The Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, with the support of the Project Countering serious crime in the Western Balkans and EUROL 3 Project, organized the 4th Regional Forum on Judicial Cooperation on 6-7 December 2022 in Budva.

This year’s Regional Forum on Judicial Cooperation was devoted to the EU standards in judicial cooperation in criminal matters and in review of bilateral agreements concluded between the countries of the Western Balkans Region, as well as the steps for signing between the countries where they have not been signed.

A series of panel discussions were dedicated to judicial cooperation through the prism of the fight against transnational organized crime, the application of communication channels, mechanisms and tools of EU agencies and networks (EPPO, Eurojust, EJN). One panel discussion was focused on the improvement of the legislative framework of the Western Balkan countries and the best practices of harmonization with EU law.

Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo* were attending the Forum by higher level representatives of the ministry responsible for the affairs of the judiciary, the court, and the prosecution.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UN Security Council resolution 1244 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.