Joint investigation teams (JITs) are a very effective judicial cooperation tool in cross-border cases. A JIT is an international cooperation tool based on an agreement between competent authorities - both judicial (judges, prosecutors, investigative judges) and law enforcement - of two or more States, established for a limited duration and for a specific purpose, to carry out criminal investigations in one or more of the involved States. JITs constitute an efficient and effective cooperation tool that facilitates the coordination of investigations and prosecutions conducted in parallel in several States or in cases with a cross-border dimension.

The JITs Network is a group of national judicial and law enforcement contact points established in the EU Member States to stimulate the use of JITs and foster the exchange of information and best practice. The JITs Network Secretariat was established in 2011 and is hosted by Eurojust. Since 2013, the JITs Network Secretariat has managed the Eurojust funding programme to provide financial support to JIT activities.

On 6 and 7 June, more than 90 participants, including members of the JITs Network from all the Member States, as well as representatives from Europol, DG Home, DG Justice, the Council of the EU, OLAF, the EJTN, CEPOL and the Council of Europe, attended the 14th Annual Meeting of the National Experts on Joint Investigation Teams, Enhancing the use of JITs: faster, simpler and effective processes.

The meeting was chaired by Tatiana Jancewicz, the newly appointed Secretary of the JITs Network Secretariat. Opening remarks were made by Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust, and Wil van Gemert, Europol's Deputy Executive Director of Operations.

The two-day meeting consisted of presentations, workshops and plenary discussions on how to ensure that such an important judicial cooperation instrument can be used by practitioners to its full extent. Several new developments in the field of JITs were discussed, including the adoption of guidelines on the functioning of the JITs Network, the possible advantages for practitioners of the Commission proposal on e-evidence, new funding rules and procedures from Eurojust and Europol (including a presentation on the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding on JIT funding between Eurojust and Europol), the possibility for JIT national experts to use the SIRIUS* platform, and the relationship between the European Investigation Order and JITs.

Earlier this year, during the preparation for this week's annual meeting, some practitioners were asked about the added value of JITs and their role as national experts.

Balázs Garamvölgyi, JITs national expert for Hungary, said: JITs are the most developed and the most advanced tool in international cooperation in criminal matters, especially when it comes to organised crime cases. There is no other tool that combines law enforcement and judicial cooperation this way. The streamlining of these otherwise parallel running cooperation channels is the essence and the main added value of JITs.

Piotr Radomski, JITs national expert for Poland, described JITs as 'a way to build mutual trust between prosecutors, police officers and judges from different countries'.

Szonja Szabó, JITs national expert for Hungary, said: The JIT is working together, thinking together, communicating together. I support them by providing the legal basis of a JIT, what is allowed or not within a JIT, which are the potential cases that could be investigated with the support of a JIT, and which cases are not....

Maja Veber-Sajn, JITs national expert for Slovenia, said: JITs broaden the perspective of a prosecutor and of an investigator, because when you work with people from different legislations, you better understand why they execute certain measures, and why they cannot execute other measures. The biggest added value of a JIT is the building of mutual trust as a basis for the next cooperation.... A JIT agreement is a contract designed to make your life easier.

On the JITs Network, Mr Garamvölgyi said: The JITs Network is an excellent source of knowledge, information and practical solutions ... already gathered, ordered and sorted for practitioners to use.... From a practical point of view, international cooperation works well if the personal networking element is involved.

On the value of JITs Network meetings, Anne-Christine Maderud of Sweden said: As a national JIT expert, there is great added value in meeting with my European colleagues to discuss how they have utilised the JIT tool, what they have learned, what has been good or not that good, and based on that, we can discuss, we can exchange experience, and this way, I can be better prepared as an advisor for my colleagues back home in Sweden or in the training I provide.

On the changing of the guard at the JITs Network Secretariat, Vincent Jamin, outgoing Secretary, said:
Having been the Secretary of the JITs Network for the last five years, I can only feel proud of its evolution. I am also confident that my successor, Tatiana Jancewicz, will bring new ideas and efficiently support further development. As said during the meeting, with the level of complexity currently observed in cross-border cases, there is a need to 'change scale' with the use of JITs and ensure they can be used in an easy, swift and almost 'routine' manner. This year, again, exchanges between experts brought valuable suggestions to achieve this goal.

Statistics:

In 2017, Eurojust supported 226 JITs, and awarded EUR 1 975 000 in JIT funding. In the first five months of 2018, Eurojust has already supported 156 JITs, and awarded EUR 950 000 in JIT funding.

The UK and Romania made the greatest number of requests for funding in 2017 and 2018.

For 2017 and the first five months of 2018, the trend in crime types has remained the same: money laundering was the top crime type in financed JITs, followed by participation in an organised crime group, trafficking in human beings and swindling and fraud.

Background:

• Infographic on Eurojust and joint investigation teams
• Second JIT Evaluation Report, February 2018
• An example of a case successfully concluded, due in part to the valuable assistance offered by a JIT, was Operation Santa Lucia. You can view the Santa Lucia video and the Santa Lucia infographic.

* SIRIUS is a secure web platform for law enforcement professionals, which allows them to share knowledge, best practice and expertise in the field of Internet-facilitated crime investigations, with a special focus on counter-terrorism.

Photos © Eurojust