From 7 to 9 November 2023, the 61st Plenary Meeting of the European Judicial Network, under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, took place in Madrid with the participation of approximately 130 EJN Contact Points.
The opening remarks were made by Mr David Vilas Álvarez, Director General for International Legal Cooperation and Human Rights of the Spanish Ministry of Justice, Mr Jose María Macías Castaño, Member of the Spanish General Council of Judiciary, Mr Alvaro García Ortiz, Prosecutor General, and Ms Ana Gallego, Director General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission. The dignitaries underlined the importance of the EJN for judicial cooperation and the invaluable support to the national judicial authorities.
Mrs Paula Mongo Roya, Deputy Director General on International Cooperation of the Spanish Ministry of Justice, and Hugh Dockry, Secretary to the EJN and Head of the EJN Secretariat, chaired the meeting. The topics discussed by the EJN Contact Points were devoted to challenges and opportunities of the European Investigation Order (EIO) and other instruments including digitalisation, challenges and available instruments in view of judicial cooperation between the EU and Latin-America, as well as to custodial sentences and measures involving deprivation of liberty and the consequences thereof. In conclusion of the meeting, solutions, best practice and proposals for improvement were formulated. The outcome will be presented to COPEN.
In addition, the EJN Contact Points were informed on the Spanish judicial cooperation system and on cooperation with IberRed and EL Pacto.
