COMJIB, Interpol ink agreement on judicial cooperation

Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Madrid: An agreement between the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB), encompassing the Ibero-American Network of International Judicial Cooperation (IberRed), and INTERPOL has been signed to promote judicial and police cooperation at the national, regional and international levels.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was jointly signed by the Secretary General of COMJIB/IberRed, Víctor Moreno Catena, and INTERPOL Secretary General, Ronald K. Noble, will provide a formal basis for future cooperation between the organizations through an increased awareness of their respective mandates, functions and regulations.

COMJIB Secretary General Moreno Catena said: “This agreement will see more effective and direct communication between the judicial authorities across the Ibero-American countries and INTERPOL in support of the citizens we all serve.”

INTERPOL Chief Noble said the MoU would help broaden the understanding of INTERPOL’s role and activities beyond exchanging police information.

“The INTERPOL agreement with COMJIB and IberRed will bring a greater understanding of each other’s role and day-to-day activities, which in turn will result in more effective cooperation in identifying and bringing criminals to justice, across Ibero-American countries and beyond," said Mr Noble.

“Support from the judiciary is essential for frontline police to effectively do their job, and in this respect, INTERPOL’s agreement with COMJIB will provide a stronger support framework," concluded the INTERPOL Secretary General.

Also present at the signing ceremony were Ignacio Ulloa Rubio, Secretary of State of Security for Spain, Juan José Martin Casallo, Deputy General Prosecutor of the Spanish General Prosecution Office and Miguel Carmona, judicial member of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial of Spain and chair of its Committee on International Relations and President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary.

The agreement provides INTERPOL with access to the Iber@Secure Communication System, a network of designated points of contact including magistrates, prosecutors and officials from Ministries of Justice and central authorities established by IberRed members under international law instruments including the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against corruption.

Areas already identified for future collaboration cover training and capacity building in combating transnational organized crime, people smuggling and human trafficking.

The 22 COMJIB/IberRed member countries are: Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Previous
Next Post »