In October and November 2021, Eurojust President, Ladislav Hamran, met with the newly appointed EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to discuss stepping up international judicial cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

To further discuss the latest developments and trends, Eurojust’s counter-terrorism national correspondents, judicial practitioners, and EU and international organisation representatives also convened in November. The topics discussed included: the role of judicial authorities in relation to the new EU Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online, adopted in April 2021, recent trends concerning left-wing and right-wing extremism and terrorism, how to address the jihadist terrorist threat posed by prison leavers, and the Counter-Terrorism Action Plan for Afghanistan, issued by the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator.

Battlefield evidence is a critical component of the effective judicial response to foreign terrorist fighters. However, due to the unique circumstances under which this evidence is collected, stored and shared, its use in criminal judicial proceedings is often subject to practical, legal and procedural challenges. To help with these challenges, Eurojust, together with the Genocide Network and US assistance, provides guidance to Member States on information known to be of potential relevance to terrorism and war crime investigations and prosecutions. The aim is to help inform those who search, review and analyse collections of battlefield evidence, enabling them to better identify and provide useful information in the investigation and prosecution of terrorism and war crimes. This assistance is timely, in view of the ongoing investigations and prosecutions in several Member States into terrorism offences and core international crimes in which battlefield evidence is used.

Eurojust is committed to further supporting EU and international efforts to enhance the use of battlefield information as evidence in criminal proceedings. The EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator and the EU Commission have recognised Eurojust’s role in mapping the use of such information and in ensuring further cooperation between EU Member States and other countries, including in support of prosecutions related to the current situation in Afghanistan. In 2020-2021, Eurojust was also an observer in the Council of Europe Working Group of Experts on the use of information collected in conflict zones as evidence in criminal proceedings related to terrorist offences.

The Eurojust Casework on Counter-Terrorism: Insights 2020–2021 report, published on 17 December 2021, presents the tangible results achieved (including seizures, arrests and convictions) thanks to Eurojust’s coordination of counter-terrorism cases. The report builds on the Agency’s experience in assisting cross-border counter-terrorism investigations and prosecutions, and in facilitating the exchange of information on judicial proceedings. Furthermore, the report outlines Eurojust’s role in coordinating judicial cooperation when dealing with the protection of terrorism victims, jurisdiction issues and requests for assistance to third countries. In particular, the report focuses on the progress achieved through the European Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register, and the use of judicial cooperation tools in cross-border counter-terrorism cases, including JITs. It also addresses specific legal and practical challenges in the criminal justice response to terrorist phenomena, such as foreign terrorist fighters (and the related use of battlefield evidence), right-wing and left-wing terrorism, and modus operandi used by terrorist networks, cells and individual offenders.

 Eurojust plays a crucial role in counter-terrorism with regard to our goal to bring terrorists to justice. It facilitates important cross-border cooperation in cases of terrorism and international crimes, in particular after major terrorist attacks in the European Union. I have great appreciation for the unique judicial collaboration Eurojust enables in counter-terrorism, and fully support President Ladislav Hamran’s and the Genocide Network Secretariat’s work on the sharing of information and best practices among our judicial practitioners in the European Union.