It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved colleague María Poza Cisneros, Deputy National Member for Spain.

 

María Poza Cisneros joined Eurojust in October 2013. In addition to her work at the Spanish National Desk, she chaired the Judicial Cooperation Instruments Team of the College of Eurojust for many years. In that capacity, she regularly represented Eurojust at the EU institutions and international conferences. Prior to joining Eurojust, she was a Senior Judge at the Court of Appeal in Murcia after pursuing a successful career in the Spanish judiciary since 1990. She was also a correspondent of the Spanish Judicial Network for International Judicial Cooperation in criminal matters, and participated as a consultant and lecturer in numerous training activities both in Spain and abroad.

 

María, as all of her colleagues knew her, died at the age of 56 after struggling with a serious illness for many years. She was widely acknowledged as a prominent legal expert in the field of judicial cooperation and well known for her warm personality.

 

Eurojust's President Mr Ladislav Hamran, said: “Eurojust is losing one of its best experts, an exceptional person who devoted her entire life to justice. She believed that only through cooperation between nations we can fight organized crime effectively. This is her legacy which we at Eurojust will proudly take further. ”

 

In its next meeting on 2 June, the College of Eurojust will observe a minute of silence for María. In the near future, there will be a memorial ceremony where a tree will be planted in Eurojust's garden in loving memory of María.