Under the Justice Programme 2014-2020, the Academy of European Law (ERA) and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), with the support of 17 national judicial training institutions from 14 Member States, are implementing a pilot project tackling the deficiencies of court staff training on European law.

The project aims to organize training activities in the field of English language and international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, both nationally and internationally, as well as the development of training manuals and materials.

In terms of the legal component, the project aims to develop the specific skills of the clerks of the Member States regarding the use of the main judicial cooperation instruments to be used in criminal matters available at European level. Included among the topics proposed to be addressed are: the particularities of the European arrest warrant, in particular in the light of the case law of the CJEU, and the use of the form provided for it; the use of the European Investigation Order (EIO); the legal framework of mutual legal assistance in the EU and the cooperation tools available to facilitate judicial assistance within the EU – for example the hearing by video conference or telephone; the support provided by the European Judicial Network (EJN) website; enforcement of judgements: the framework decisions for arrest in the criminal investigation phase, the prison sentences, supervision measures and alternative sanctions; freezing, blocking and confiscation stipulated in Directive 2021/42/EU.

Through the linguistic component the project lends support to the clerks effectively involved in the activity of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Both the manual that will be elaborated within the project and the 6 legal English seminars with international attendance aiming this component will be oriented towards acquiring and developing the specific terminology necessary for working with the forms and tools specific to this field. The training actions will be attended by 475 clerks from the participating countries, of which 56 Romanian clerks.