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.
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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.
Interventions Alliance has published a new evaluation of a Hub coordinated on behalf of police forces in the south of England, focused on tackling violence against women and children through a whole family approach. The Hub supports victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse and works across policing, health and social services.
New updates from the European Commission highlight key priorities for judicial training in Europe, alongside new tools supporting transparency and access to data.
Today, 25 November, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. It is a global reminder, recognised by UNESCO and the wider international community, of the urgent need to prevent violence, support those affected by it, and strengthen collective action. The day also opens the 16 Days of Activism, a worldwide campaign that calls for sustained engagement to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
From 18-20 November 2025, 15th Plenary Meeting of the Council for Penological Co-operation took part in Council of Europe, Strasbourg. CEP was represented by President Annie Devos, Vice-Presidents Danijela Mrhar Prelic (PC-CP member) and Daniel Danglades and Secretary General Jana Spero Kamenjarin.
The CEP Expert Group on Mental Health met on 19 November 2025 to continue its work on developing a European mental health training curriculum for probation officers. Since last year, the group has been working intensively and meticulously to produce a solid first version of the curriculum.
CEP has released the first cross-European study examining stress, burnout, and morale among probation staff. The report was produced by Professor Charlie Brooker, Professor Karen Tocque, Professor Ioan Durnescu and Liliana Lupsica, whose combined expertise in public health, criminology, and organisational analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of well-being in probation work.
