Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) have come a long way since they were envisioned almost a decade ago, and put within theoretical reach by the Convention of 29 May 2000 on mutual assistance in criminal matters between the Member States of the European Union.¹ It is fair to say that they have evolved from an idea, viewed initially with a degree of skepticism by practitioners across the Member States, and are now used more frequently to enable faster and broader investigations. Naturally, there have been challenges along the way, and unfortunately often news of these challenges, rather than news of the many positive experiences, has spread. Fortunately, we have now reached a stage where those involved in JITs on a daily basis are able to speak about their positive experiences, and see their role, as does Eurojust, to dispel the acquired myths, and be on hand with practical advice, guidance and now also financial support, to encourage and enable the setting up of JITs in a swift, efficient and effective manner. Still, much work remains to be done.

This article is part of Eurojust’s effort to increase awareness and to provide at the same time an overview of what Eurojust is doing in the field, to describe the financial support available, and to explain the reasons behind Eurojust’s growing role in JITs from a practical side, and finally its role as a European centre of expertise.

Eurojust’s evolution has been as rapid and significant as that of JITs. Eurojust deals now with more than 1000 cases a year, most of which are related to the facilitation of judicial cooperation, including the implementation of mutual legal assistance requests, and holds more than 100 coordination meetings a year. Although 100 coordination meetings may not seem like many when compared to 1000 cases, there is on average one meeting held every two days. It is during these meetings, most of which are hosted by and take place at Eurojust’s premises in The Hague, that key persons with the authority to make decisions come together to discuss strategy, coordinate their investigative measures, and share gathered information with each other, and, with greater regularity, agree to set up JITs². There have been a number of questions asked during these coordination meetings regarding JITs, by police officers contemplating using JITs, prosecutors or judges agreeing on the setting up of JITs, as well as by national authorities and academics. The most important questions are always: ‘When should we use a JIT?’, and ‘What is the added value of a JIT in this case?’

It is easy to understand why Eurojust is uniquely placed to provide answers to these questions. The expertise gained through coordination meetings is now used with greater frequency by practitioners when contemplating setting up a JIT. Eurojust advises on the types of cases that can benefit from a JIT, it assists the national authorities in the steps to be taken when setting up a JIT and it also advises on what can be done without a JIT. Moreover, Eurojust, in accordance with its powers under Articles 6 and 7 of the Council Decision of 28 February 2002 setting up Eurojust,³ can also recommend that the authorities of a Member State consider the setting up of a JIT in certain cases. Although a JIT creates immense possibilities otherwise unavailable in terms of flexibility, speed and depth of cross-border investigations, it is certainly not a tool to be used for everything. Eurojust contributes its professional and unbiased guidance to the practitioner. Therefore, Eurojust, due to its mandate and experience in promoting and supporting the coordination of investigations, is uniquely placed to give advice. In addition, if the legislation of the Member State allows the setting up of a JIT and the participation by the Eurojust National Member, then most certainly the ability to assist the national authorities directly is even greater.

The new Council Decision of 16 December 2008 on the Strengthening of Eurojust and amending the Council Decision setting up Eurojust has confirmed the tasks allocated to Eurojust with regard to JITs and dramatically enhanced its role.⁴ The new Eurojust Decision, which entered into force on 4 June 2009, foresees making Eurojust the central contact in Europe for JITs and setting in place an information flow. For example, Member States are asked to notify Eurojust of the setting up of a JIT and the outcome of a JIT. For the first time, we should be able to have information on the number of JITs in existence at any given time, as well as their effectiveness. This is extremely significant, as, at present, there are no authoritative or reliable statistics on the number of JITs.

Additionally, there are provisions in the new Eurojust Decision that will (a) allow Eurojust National Members to participate in JITs in their Member State; (b) allow the National Members, their deputies or assistants to be invited to participate in a JIT if Community funding is provided; and (c) last but not least in terms of significance, allow the Secretariat of the JIT Experts Network to be formed from, and be part of, Eurojust.

Consequently, once the new Decision is implemented in all Member States, Eurojust will be the focal point for JITs. The flow of information will allow Eurojust to know how many JITs are in existence at any one time across the EU, what they are investigating, and their outcomes – and, significantly, it is likely that this knowledge will not come from mere statistics, but actual practical experience. Eurojust’s objective is to become a direct point of contact for practitioners all across Europe and to create a medium for discussion of the merits and practicalities of setting up a JIT.

It is apparent that these new powers and expectations entail considerable responsibility. The goal of the cumulative efforts is to provide better support to national authorities. Eurojust’s purpose is not to accumulate information but rather to disseminate it to the practitioners. Eurojust, when approached with a problem that has never been encountered before, will be able to assist by using its experience to identify possible solutions and to offer guidance. The more Eurojust is called upon, the more precise and specific its responses and thus every request for assistance or query generated from a practitioner will allow others to learn from the same query, avoid similar problems, and also benefit from possible solutions.

Eurojust at present supports JITs in a number of ways. Advice is available (a) on whether a JIT will bring added value compared to other cooperation tools, (b) on dealing with the mechanics of setting up a JIT and (c) on supporting its subsequent operation.

Eurojust has provided assistance in:

• Identifying whether a JIT brings added value to a specific investigation;

• Identifying core issues in JIT agreements, and providing pre-draft agreements;

• Identifying issues and assisting in JIT extension agreements;

• Providing feedback from other JITs and dealing with issues not considered at the time of drafting the agreement;

• During operations, assisting and facilitating MLA requests to countries not taking part in the JIT agreement, including countries outside the EU; and

• Advising on and supporting partnership applications for funding to the European Commission.

In 2005, a Network of National Experts on JITs was established, consisting of at least one expert per Member State.⁵ The Network promotes the use of JITs by helping to facilitate the setting up of the teams, assisting in the sharing of experiences and best practice, and dealing with legal considerations. Eurojust, Europol and the General Secretariat of the Council have been providing support to the Network. Eurojust will further assist the JIT Experts Network with a permanent dedicated secretariat set up within the administration of Eurojust and will host and organise this year’s 5th annual JIT Experts Network Meeting.

Eurojust and Europol have also run joint projects on JITs. They jointly produced a ‘Guide on EU Member States’ Legislation on JITs’, which offers an overview of EU Member States’ different legal possibilities for setting up JITs pursuant to Article 13 of the 2000 Mutual Assistance Convention. Both organisations also work on a manual that lists practical issues to be dealt with when setting up JITs and that could be used as a guide for setting up a JIT.⁶ In 2007, Eurojust and Europol launched their web pages promoting JITs (http://www.eurojust.europa.eu/jits and www.europol.europa.eu/jits ).

Funding for JITs was introduced by the Commission in 2007. However, by listening to practitioners, Eurojust has identified a number of factors that may make the securing of Commission funding - which has proven to be both substantial and extremely helpful in certain cases - more difficult. Examples range from a mismatch of operational needs and application requirements to a lack of awareness of Commission deadlines. Additionally, Eurojust notices that experience gained from JITs is not being shared and, therefore, the opportunity to benefit from lessons learned in previous JITs is missed. To address these points, Eurojust has applied for and received a grant from the Commission under the ‘Prevention of and Fight against Crime’ programme, which allows for financial and logistical support for JITs until December 2010.⁷ An additional grant, which would run until 2013, has been applied for and is currently under evaluation by the Commission.

Eurojust recognises the need, and endorses the idea of, financially supporting the setting up and functioning of JITs, in particular travel, accommodation, interpretation and translation costs, as well as IT support to solve potential infrastructure problems (e.g. laptops and mobile phones). However, it should be clear that according to Commission rules, Eurojust cannot finance the entire cost of a JIT. Any financing is necessarily subject to the limited availability of funds. Eurojust reserves the right to allocate funds and publish new guidelines. The application form, notices and explanations of the procedures can be found on the Eurojust JIT Funding Project website at www.eurojust.europa.eu/jit_funding.htm, as well as the contact details of the JIT Project Manager at Eurojust in case of any questions or need for assistance.

In addition to assisting with funding, Eurojust gathers information for a proper analysis of JIT activity, and analyses the quantity and duration of JITs and the types of crime for which JITs are formed. The aim is to assist practitioners, the Commission and the Council in identifying where support is needed, and addressing any shortcomings.

Due to their nature, JITs will keep evolving and adapt to practice, issues encountered and experiences gained. Increased awareness on JITs in general, new approaches, new provisions and any other updates is crucial and new information needs to be made available to national authorities in the Member States. Eurojust has been allocated different tasks and will continue to assists the national authorities in the Member States.

I believe Eurojust can offer a real and potential added value when national authorities are considering or dealing with JITs. Eurojust’s main goal is to play an effective and efficient supporting role in cross-border investigations and prosecutions. Therefore, Eurojust is committed to becoming the key player and centre of expertise with regard to JITs. Moreover, establishing an overall European approach to further strengthen the fight against serious and organised crime lies at the heart of Eurojust’s mission.