Skip to content

News

European Judicial Network (EJN) – Connecting Justice

The EJN is a network of national contact points – prosecutors, judges, representatives of ministries of justice, and law enforcement authorities – whose main task is to facilitate international judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Operational since 1998, the EJN Contact Points are recognised as an essential hub to enable judicial cooperation in their respective countries, as the number of recorded cases during the period between 2010 and 2020 has exceeded 90,000.

The legal basis of the EJN is Council Decision 2008/976/JHA of 16 December 2008 on the European Judicial Network (the “EJN Decision”).

The EJN holds five EU-level meetings per year, allowing practitioners to get to know each other, establish professional relationships and deal with requests for judicial cooperation on the spot. The meetings also provide a forum for discussion of practical and legal problems encountered in the context of judicial cooperation.

In recent EJN meetings, it has been concluded by the EJN Contact Points that mutual recognition instruments are a topic to be raised in different fora for discussion. There is a continuous need for training at the national and at the EU level with the involvement of the EJN and EJTN on different instruments. National intranet pages, too, could be a useful source for sharing EU or national guidelines, best practices, and handbooks to facilitate the issuing and execution of the orders/certificates. Finally, involvement of the EJN (practitioners) during the EU legislative process has been considered highly beneficial in recent years in relation to creating and improvement of the EU legal instruments.

For the full report click here.

 

Related News

Keep up to date with the latest developments, stories, and updates on probation from across Europe and beyond. Find relevant news and insights shaping the field today.

New

Probation in Europe

New Vodcast Episode: Katharina Heitz on the Ressources-Risk-Inventory in Probation

11/09/2025

The 14th episode of Division_Y features Katharina Heitz, Head of the Central Department for Social Work at the Public Probation and Parole Service Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Recap

CEP Board, Probation in Europe

CEP at ESC 2025: Penal Policy Transfer and Ageing in Prison in Focus

08/09/2025

The Confederation of European Probation (CEP) had a strong presence at the 25th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (EUROCRIM 2025), held in Athens from 3 to 6 September 2025. As one of Europe’s largest gatherings of criminologists, the ESC annual conference brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to exchange knowledge on crime, justice, and social responses. This year’s theme was “Logos of Crime and Punishment,” inspired by classical Greek philosophy.

Probation in Europe, Technology

Have Your Say: EU Call for Evidence on the Digitalisation of Justice (2025–2030)

18/08/2025

The European Commission has opened a Call for Evidence on the Digitalisation of Justice: 2025–2030 European Judicial Training Strategy.

Reading corner

Criminal Justice

Parole Futures

18/08/2025

At a time when many parole systems are experiencing considerable strain, the aims of this collection are twofold: first, to encourage systematic and critical reflection on the rationalities, institutions and practices of parole. Second, to think big, and pose ambitious ‘what if’ questions about the possible futures of parole and prison release. Offering novel insights from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America, this collection builds the case for, and then showcases, a ‘way of doing’ parole research that is global in outlook, interdisciplinary in approach and unapologetically normative in character.

New

Probation in Europe

New Vodcast Episode: Prof. Bernd Maelicke on The Prison-Dilemma

12/08/2025

The 13th episode of Division_Y features an in-depth conversation with Prof. Bernd Maelicke, one of Germany’s most respected voices in prison and probation reform.

New

Probation outside Europe

CEP Ambassador Steve Pitts Receives Prestigious Japanese Honour

05/08/2025

We are pleased to share that CEP Ambassador Steve Pitts has been awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Government of Japan. The honour was officially presented on 25th July 2025 at a formal ceremony held at the Japanese Ambassador‘s residence in London, hosted by the Japanese Ambassador.

Subscribe to our bi-monthly email newsletter!