About Us
UNODC's Organized Crime Branch (OCB), has entrusted its Global Programme to Support the Capacity of Member States to Prevent and Combat Serious and Transnational Organized Crime (GP-TOC), to facilitate international cooperation in criminal matters by supporting the development and implementation of regional judicial cooperation networks.
GPTOC presently supports the functioning of four judicial cooperation networks. These include the Judicial Cooperation Network of Central Asia and Southern Caucasus (CASC), the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors (WACAP), the Great Lakes Judicial Cooperation Network (GLJC) and most recently, the South East Asia Justice (SEAJust) Network.
These networks are based upon the model and working methods of the European Judicial Network (EJN), providing a framework to promote expeditious execution of Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests for all forms of serious and organized crime. Work is carried out through formally appointed contact points who serve as “active intermediaries” to facilitate international cooperation in criminal matters with competent authorities of other networks or countries, if requested.
In addition to the case work carried out by contact points, these networks may convene or establish working groups on specific thematic issues on a temporary or a permanent basis, and may also facilitate training sessions, as well as the development and dissemination of practical tools and guides on international cooperation in criminal matters through the networks’ regional meetings and capacity building activities.
In 2019, with funding from the Government of Japan, the GPTOC, together with the UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ROSEAP), undertook an initiative to support the establishment of this judicial cooperation network, currently covering 12 countries in Southeast Asia: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
GPTOC presently supports the functioning of four judicial cooperation networks. These include the Judicial Cooperation Network of Central Asia and Southern Caucasus (CASC), the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors (WACAP), the Great Lakes Judicial Cooperation Network (GLJC) and most recently, the South East Asia Justice (SEAJust) Network.
These networks are based upon the model and working methods of the European Judicial Network (EJN), providing a framework to promote expeditious execution of Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests for all forms of serious and organized crime. Work is carried out through formally appointed contact points who serve as “active intermediaries” to facilitate international cooperation in criminal matters with competent authorities of other networks or countries, if requested.
In addition to the case work carried out by contact points, these networks may convene or establish working groups on specific thematic issues on a temporary or a permanent basis, and may also facilitate training sessions, as well as the development and dissemination of practical tools and guides on international cooperation in criminal matters through the networks’ regional meetings and capacity building activities.
In 2019, with funding from the Government of Japan, the GPTOC, together with the UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ROSEAP), undertook an initiative to support the establishment of this judicial cooperation network, currently covering 12 countries in Southeast Asia: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
