This call for proposals comes after Ministers adopted the new criminal justice programme in February. The general objectives of the programme are the following:
- to promote judicial cooperation with the aim of contributing to the creation of a genuineEuropean area of justice in criminal matters based on mutual recognition and mutualconfidence.
- to promote the compatibility in rules applicable in the Member States as may be necessary to improve judicial cooperation. To promote a reduction in existing legal obstacles to the good functioning of judicial cooperation with a view to strengthening the coordination of investigations and to increase compatibility of the existing judicial systems of the Member States to the European Union with a view to providing adequate follow-up to investigations of law enforcement authorities of the Member States.
- to improve the contacts and exchange of information and best practice between legal,
judicial and administrative authorities and the legal professions: lawyers and other
professionals involved in the work of the judiciary, and to foster the training of the
members of the judiciary, with a view to enhancing mutual trust. - to improve further mutual trust with the view to ensuring protection of rights of victims and of the accused.
Framework Partnerships
To achieve the above-mentioned objectives the Commission intends to conclude framework partnerships with key actors in the area of judicial training, who are interested in working with the Commission on a regular basis in the designated areas, in order to provide for a long term cooperation framework
Framework partnerships are foreseen in particular for those actions for which there is a need to work on a regular and stable basis with a network involving a certain number of
beneficiaries: a network of 'key' players to work alongside the Commission on a regular and stable basis may need to be set up in order to implement some of its policies effectively.
In the area of criminal justice, this scenario arises particularly in regard to bodies or
organisations with a European dimension in the area of judicial training as elaborated below. The total maximum amount for individual grants to be awarded within framework partnership agreements in 2007 is expected to be in the order of €2.6 million, subject to the adoption of the annual work programme for 2007
Eligible organisations
The framework partnerships will be concluded with bodies or organisations with a European
dimension in the area of training of legal professions established in the Member States with legal personality. They should have experience of organising transnational projects in the
field of judicial training and/or the training of legal professions in the last 3 years. Profit-oriented bodies and organisations will have access to grants only in conjunction with
non-profit oriented bodies or state organisations. Natural persons, international organisations or organisations which are profit-oriented are not eligible to become framework partners. The framework partnerships will be concluded for a period of four years. The framework partners can undertake individual projects that may last up to three years.
Area of Activities
The activities to be carried out by framework partners should comprise of:
- Organisation in at least 8 Member States of a general seminar presenting the institutional context of the development of the EU as an area of freedom, security and justice, and the various instruments adopted in order to improve judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Each seminar should involve practitioners (prosecutors, judges and defence lawyers) from at least 3 Member States.
- Organisation in at least 6 Member States in cooperation between judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers, of comparative analyses of the different Member State responses to similar cases in criminal law based on moots and exchanges of judicial practices. This action should at least involve 3 Member States.
- Organisation in at least 6 Member States of language training on the vocabulary of
judicial cooperation with both theoretical and practical activities, and involving in
each case at least 2 countries. Participants should be members of the European judicial
network or other practitioners (prosecutors, judges and defence lawyers) particularly involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The language training specifically aimed at judges, prosecutors or defence lawyers involved in judicial cooperation in criminal matters should take into account their particular role in criminal proceedings and hence their distinctive training needs, It should be noted that, although some of these actions might involve exchanges of experiences among practitioners, the Exchange programme for judicial authorities will be supported separately and not within framework partnership agreements.
The closing date is Thursday April 19.
For further details please visit : http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/jpen/funding_jpen_en.htm#
