The Council of Europe organised two simultaneous training sessions for 50 Turkish judges and prosecutors in Istanbul on 15-17 November 2023, within the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Project on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Türkiye.

These were the 11th and 12th events out of a series of training sessions to be organised throughout the project. The trainers conducted the sessions supervised by a national project expert and focused on mutual legal assistance (MLA) and extradition, on concurrent jurisdiction cases, the drafting of an MLA request, international standards, as well as the grounds for refusal and concrete case studies. Two experts representing the Dutch Central Authority and the Dutch National Public Prosecution Office delivered presentations on the practices of judicial cooperation in criminal cases in the Netherlands. They provided valuable insights into their cooperation process with both EU and non-EU countries. Throughout the training, both international best practices and relevant Turkish law and practice were introduced and discussed with the participants.

Participants actively contributed to the training sessions by sharing their practical experiences, including the challenges they face. Most participants reported that their knowledge of mutual legal assistance and extradition had increased as a result of the training.

The Project “Improving International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters” in Turkey is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.