Jihadist terrorism has managed to turn Iraq not only into an open field of combat, but also into a battleground for recruitment, radicalization, recruitment, training and the commission of attacks. This situation makes police and judicial cooperation between the various institutions in Iraq and other countries of the world increasingly necessary.

Within the framework of the European project CT Just, an Iraqi delegation visited the agency for criminal judicial cooperation, Eurojust. The delegation, led by the representatives of the Iraqi National Center for International Judicial Cooperation (NCIJC), Judge Ali Al-Tameemi and Mr. Fikrat Al-Abbodi, were able to learn first-hand about the work of the European agency.

The main objective of this visit was to establish a direct channel of communication between the Iraqi Center and Eurojust and, in this way, to advance in practical mechanisms of judicial cooperation, especially regarding the exchange of information and evidence in cases of international crimes, financing of terrorism and serious violations of human rights.

Judge Al-Tameemi, who is also Iraq’s official contact point to Eurojust, expressed along with his team the satisfaction of the NCIJC for having contributed in recent years to provide useful information to European agencies to prevent attacks and locate suspects. They also stressed that their experience is based on two decades of dealing with terrorism on their territory and expressed their willingness to cooperate to eliminate crime, integrate into the international community and actively participate in the exchange of legal and judicial assistance.

This meeting has been possible thanks to the work previously developed on the ground by the CT Just project, which started with the visit of the Vice President of Eurojust to Baghdad. CTJust has facilitated the appointment of a point of contact (Judge Al-Tameemi) as well as the strengthening of this new relationship which Julian Cabrero Lopez, Spanish Senior Judge and expert in charge of multilateral affairs of CTJust, describes as “a great step forward in the normalization of Iraq’s participation in all international cooperation mechanisms”.