Euromed Justice IV

Project description

The overall objective of the Euromed Justice IV project funded by the European Union is to contribute to the development of a Euro-Mediterranean area of effective, efficient and democratic justice system respectful and protective of human rights by the strengthening of the rule of law and continuously progressing towards the alignment to international legal frameworks, principles and standards. This project of regional scope is addressed to the European Neighbourhood South Partner Countries (ENI SPC).

The purposes of this project are to:

• support, building on recent changes and on a flexible and demand-driven approach, relevant reforms of the justice system in the ENI SPC;
• foster effective coordination and cooperation between the ENI SPC and the European Union in the area of justice;
• strengthen cooperation between the countries of the Region as well as with the European Member States and Agencies;
• provide capacity building in priority areas, based on the identification of needs and gaps and promote the sharing of existing expertise and good practices;
• provide a dialogue platform on justice and security issues where most South Mediterranean partner countries sit together;
• establish a linkage with Euromed Police and Europol;
• create an inter-professional community of magistrates and lawyers; and
• consolidate all the documentation produced under the previous Euromed Justice projects within an online Euromed Justice database accessible through a single web platform.

The Euromed Justice IV project seeks to consolidate and further develop the achievements of Euromed Justice I, II and III and aims to achieve its goals by, among others,

• setting up a Technical Assistance Facility in order to coordinate efficient and effective deployment of capacity building measures and experts, and to provide national authorities in the ENI SPC with flexible and tailored support, based on identified common needs in priority areas;
• applying a mechanism guaranteeing flexibility and a bottom-up approach;
• operating in a differentiated fashion with sub-regional themes and activities when relevant and possible, allowing for better ownership and commitment;
• working in close cooperation with European and international organisations operating in the fields covered by the project (i.e. Eurojust, European Judicial Network, Europol, etc.) as well as with the Euromed Police IV project.

The project targets the judiciary and institutes for training of judges and court personnel, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior, independent national institutions (Ombudsmen, human rights centres), Bar associations and institutes for training of lawyers, other legal professionals, university research centres and academics, civil society organisations (NGOs active in the justice sector), and the media.