Judicial cooperation in criminal matters between EU Member States and non-EU countries continues to be governed by international law treaties and agreements, either bilateral or multilateral. As far as the multilateral instruments are concerned, there are legal instruments adopted under the aegis of the Council of Europe and the United Nations (UN) and the Agreements that the EU has concluded with some non-EU countries (for the documents, please go to the Judicial library that you can access via the homepage of the EJN).
Organised and transnational crime can be tackled more efficiently by linking judicial networks specialised in judicial cooperation in criminal matters, working together in a decentralised and informal manner. Contacts through judicial networks facilitate the practical implementation of the binding legal framework for judicial cooperation and speed up the procedures.
In case a non-EU country does not belong to any judicial network, the direct nomination of contact points can fulfil the same purpose. Such nominations may take place also in case there is a particular need, e.g. in relation to countries which the EU Member States cooperate with on a more regular basis.
The EJN has established close relations with other judicial networks and through contact points in various non-EU countries. These contact points are judges, prosecutors or other practitioners from local judicial authorities and central authorities. As a result, the EJN Contact Points enjoy direct access to contacts on a global scale.