With the overall objective of contributing to the development of a Euro-Mediterranean area of cooperation in the field of justice and of effective, efficient and democratic justice systems, the European Union, alongside the Project’s Partner Countries from the Southern Neighbourhood, concretely: the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Israel, the Kingdom of Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, the Kingdom of Morocco, Palestine and the Republic of Tunisia, have begun work on the new phase of the EuroMed Justice process (2016-2018). EuroMed Justice brings together the most relevant stakeholders in the field of justice, including representatives from the South Partner Countries (SPCs), the European Commission, the EU Member States, as well as other relevant EU and international organisations active in the judicial sector. This EuroMed Justice Project is focused on judicial cooperation in the field of criminal law, in coordination with Eurojust and the European Judicial Network (EJN), as well as in the field of civil law (particularly family law, with the support of The Hague Conference on Private International Law), independence of justice (with special emphasis on High Judicial Councils, in partnership with the Council of Europe) and access to justice (mainly legal aid frameworks). EuroMed Justice’s core focus will be on criminal matters. A cooperation mechanism will facilitate justice practitioners to working together in criminal law. This mechanism will consist of national and regional platforms directly connected with, and sustained by, Eurojust and the European Judicial Network, key stakeholders in EuroMed Justice. Some of the project activities will also be developed in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, the Council of Europe (in particular, the European Committee on Crime Problems), and the International Association of Prosecutors.
