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International co-operation of the Prosecutor’s Office11. March 2009
International legal co-operation in criminal matters According to section 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure international co-operation in criminal procedures comprises extradition of persons to foreign states, mutual assistance between states in criminal matters, execution of the judgments of foreign courts, taking over and transfer of criminal proceedings already commenced, co-operation with the International Criminal Court and Eurojust. Section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the judicial authorities competent to engage in international co-operation in criminal procedures. The central authority for international co-operation in criminal procedures is the Ministry of Justice, while the courts, Prosecutors’ Offices, the Police Board, Security Police Board, Central Criminal Police, police prefectures, the Tax and Customs Board, Border Guard Administration, Competition Board and the Military Police are the judicial authorities competent to engage in international co-operation in criminal procedures to the extent provided by law. If the Estonian Penal Code is applied to criminal offences which are committed outside the territory of the Republic of Estonia, the Office of the Prosecutor-General, which initiates criminal proceedings or verifies the legality and justification of the commencement of criminal proceedings, shall be immediately informed thereof. Co-operation with the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) In 2004 the Estonian Prosecutor’s Office joined the International Association of Prosecutors. This is a global forum of prosecutors in which 127 countries participate. This is the only universal organisation of prosecutors which aims inter alia to: - exchange experience of bringing criminal charges between member states; - promote uniform principles of high standard law enforcement; - reinforce co-operation between prosecutors in the fight against organised crime, including the strengthening of co-operation in gathering evidence and exchanging information; - facilitate direct contacts between prosecutors in order to reinforce everyday bilateral co-operation. Within the framework of this co-operation working meetings are organised for prosecutors who have specialised in certain types of crimes and an annual conference for Prosecutor-Generals also takes place. Co-operation within the framework of the European Union - Eurojustice Eurojustice is an annual conference of Prosecutor-Generals of member states and candidate states of the European Union which was established in - Eurojust Eurojust is a European Union body established in 2002 to enhance the effectiveness of the competent authorities within Member States when they are dealing with the investigation and prosecution of serious cross-border and organised crime. Since 2004 the State Prosecutor, Raivo Sepp, has been the Estonian representative to Eurojust. Since September 2007 Raivo Sepp has been a Vice-President of Eurojust. - OLAF The Prosecutor’s Office also works in co-operation with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) whose mission is to fight fraud, corruption and any other irregular activity which damages the financial interests of the European Union. - EJN European Judicial Network (EJN) in Criminal Matters was founded in - EJTN European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) was founded in - CARIN The Prosecutor’s Office participates in the work of the Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN) which was founded in 2004 with the aim of enhancing co-operation between its member states in order to detect, seize and confiscate illegally acquired assets. Co-operation within the framework of the Council of Annual conferences of prosecutor-generals of the member states of the Council of Europe take place with the aim of strengthening the co-operation between the prosecutor’s offices of the member countries, discuss problems of mutual interest and the role of prosecutor’s offices in the legal systems of different countries. - MONEYVAL MONEYVAL is an expert committee which evaluates the implementation of measures preventing money laundering in member states of the Council of Europe who are not members of FATF. Co-operation between prosecutors of the The co-operation between prosecutors of the · Expert Group on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance · Expert Group on Trafficking in and Sexual Abuse of Women and Children · Expert Group on Environmental Crimes Bilateral co-operation The Estonian Prosecutor’s Office works in constant co-operation with several European Union Member states. However, the main co-operation partners are our closest neighbours, Useful links: IAP: http://www.iap.nl.com/ EUROJUST: http://www.eurojust.europa.eu/index.htm OLAF: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/index_en.html EJN: http://www.ejn-crimjust.europa.eu/ EJTN: http://www.ejtn.net/www/en/html/index.htm MONEYVAL: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/moneyval/
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