7th Summer School for Junior Magistrates from South-Eastern Europe

May 28 – June 02, 2012 – Opatija, Croatia

The Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) Secretariat, in cooperation with the Judicial Academy of Republic of Croatia, co-organized the annual Summer School for Junior Magistrates from South-Eastern Europe on May 28 – June 02, 2012, in Opatija, Croatia. Launched in 2006 as a forum for exchange of ideas and practices among young judges, prosecutors and investigators, the event was organized for 7th consecutive year and was dedicated to the “International Standards and Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption”. It consisted of four main training modules:

1. International standards in anticorruption – the implementation of relevant conventions of United Nations and Council of Europe;
2. Reform of the judiciary and anticorruption, as challenges of the EU accession process;
3. Anticorruption policies and preventive measures;
4. EU experience regarding the international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, stressing on the activity of structures like OLAF and EUROJUST.

In the framework of the event the junior magistrates spent one week in academic environment along the Adriatic coast of Croatia gaining from the knowledge and experience of honorable lecturers coming from public institutions, international organizations and civil society. The young prosecutors and judges were given the opportunity to exchange ideas and experience on the anticorruption field, to comment the weak and the strong points of their daily work, thus building bridges between the people in South–Eastern Europe.

The framework of the Summer School included presentations by experts from UNODC, Council of Europe (GRECO), Vienna University of Economics and Business, the Prosecutor’s Office in Torino – Italy, EUROJUST, Regional Cooperation Council, Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption of Republic of Moldova, the Croatian State Attorney Office and Ministry of Justice of Croatia. During the special outdoor session, the junior magistrates visited the District Court in Rijeka and held a meeting with its president and chiefs of Criminal Department.

The event was closed with final evaluation of the attendants in the form of case study presented by the Judicial Academy of Croatia followed by certificate ceremony lead by Mrs. Nella Popovic – Head of International Cooperation and Projects Service in the Judicial Academy of Croatia, Mr. Davor Dubravica – Head of Independent Anticorruption Sector in Ministry of Justice of Croatia and RAI Chairperson, Mr. Edmond Dunga – Head of RAI Secretariat and Mr. Stanislav Aleksandrov – Anticorruption Expert in RAI Secretariat.

For more information, please, have a look at the attached list of participants and agenda of the Summer School.

Presentations

Summer School for Junior Magistrates from SEE – Stanislav Aleksandrov (RAI Secretariat)

Framework for Regional Cooperation and Sharing Best Practices in Fighting Corruption in SEE – Stanislav Aleksandrov (RAI Secretariat)

UNCAC – The role of the Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC and its Review of Implementation Mechanism – Demosthenes Cryssikos (UNODC)

UNCAC – ChapterIV. International Cooperation – Demosthenes Cryssikos (UNODC)

UNCAC – Chapter V. Asset Recovery – Demosthenes Cryssikos (UNODC)

Respecting International Anti-Corruption Standards – Anna Myers (GRECO Secretariat)

Whistleblowing: International Overview – Anna Myers (GRECO Secretariat)

OLAF – the mechanism for detection and investigation of fraud and corruption within European Union – way of functioning + case studies – Alberto Perduca (Italian magistrate, Former Director of Investigations and Operations at OLAF and Head of Justice Component of EULEX Mission in UNMIK/Kosovo)

The international efforts to set up a sustainable judicial framework in UNMIK/Kosovo – Alberto Perduca (Italian magistrate, Former Director of Investigations and Operations at OLAF and Head of Justice Component of EULEX Mission in UNMIK/Kosovo)

Description of the Functioning of Prosecutor’s Office with the focus on the Recent Changes Regarding EU Accession Process – Diana Pervan (County State’s Attorney of Zagreb)

Functioning of the judicial system in Croatia with focus on the recent changes regarding the EU membership – Maja Grubisin (Ministry of Justice of Croatia)

Austria’s Anti-corruption Laws – Evolution and International Standards, Status and Evaluation – Mag. Guenther Hauss (Institute for Austrian and European Economic Criminal Law)

Anti-Corruption Policies and Preventive Measures – Best Practices from Public and Private Sector – Mag. Markus Hoecher (Institute for Austrian and European Economic Criminal Law)

Corruption Risk Assessment in regard to the Judicial System – Comparative Study – Daniela Railean (Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption)

Joint Investigation Teams – way of functioning + case studies – Mariana Lilova (Eurojust)

Investigation and Prosecution of Cross-border and Organized Crimes – Mariana Lilova (Eurojust)

EU-SEE: Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters – Virgil Ivan-Cucu (Regional Cooperation Council)

Case OFFSIDE – Diana Pervan (County State’s Attorney of Zagreb)

Photo Gallery