Dr. Stéphane Monney Mouandjo, Secretary General of Cafrad; Mohamed Oukhlifa, Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rabat; Rajhi Abdellaziz, Deputy Senior Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Rabat; Mohamed Abidi, IRZ (from right to left)
On 7 and 8 November 2017, the IRZ organised its third successive multilateral conference in Rabat on “Fighting organised crime”. The event was held in partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Justice and supported by the German Foreign Office as part of the Transformation partnerships with North Africa/the Middle East.
As well as judges and public prosecutors from Morocco, representatives of the Tunisian and Jordanian justice systems also took part.
In addition to combating money laundering, the main focus of the conference was on human trafficking and the international and national legal framework for fighting terrorism.
Hans-Dieter Hilken, former Head of Criminal Investigations, and Jürgen Maurer, a former Vice-President of the Bundeskriminalamt (German Federal Criminal Office) represented the IRZ as German experts.
The participants in the conference were able to learn details about international and regional agreements and strategies for combating money laundering and tax fraud and discuss their respective national experiences of the fight against terrorism. It became clear that all countries are facing similar challenges.
Since all three phenomena present transnational difficulties, which do not stop at national borders, international cooperation and joint efforts are required to deal with them effectively. The coordination of the various parties involved and the secure exchange of information within a country and between countries constitute one of the greatest challenges in this respect.
Since the issue is a pressing one, it certainly makes sense to work more closely together in this field. Within this context, the IRZ will continue to work with the Moroccan justice system and to support regional discussions.
The Moroccan delegation during expert discussions with Peter Faust, Presiding Judge at the Regional Court of Berlin, at the German Association of Judges in Berlin
Continuing the cooperation with Morocco in the field of legal and forensic medicine, a Moroccan delegation visited Berlin from 11 to 15 September 2017 to learn about the “Potential of legal and forensic medicine for law professionals”. The event was part of a three-year project, which the IRZ is leading together with the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The project is supported by the German Foreign Office as part of the Transformation partnerships with North Africa/the Middle East during the period from 2017 to 2019.
The objective is to support independent legal and forensic medicine in Morocco by providing continued training and education for forensic scientists, developing an appropriate professional code and improving the cooperation between legal and forensic medicine and the justice system.
The delegation was first of all welcomed to expert discussions at the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine at Charité Berlin, the focus of which was on the subject of “guaranteeing the independence of legal and forensic medicine”. The following topics in particular were discussed:
The structure of the Institute
Cooperation with the relevant authorities
Financial regulations
Criteria for reports and autopsies
Continued training and education for forensic scientists and
Guaranteeing the independence of legal and forensic medicine in Germany.
This visit also included a practical part and a guided tour of the Department of Forensic Toxicology and the autopsy room.
Further expert discussions were held at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. The subjects of discussion here were the cooperation between the Administration of Justice and legal and forensic medicine, the duties of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, criminal proceedings (e.g the investigation and autopsy processes) and the position and status of legal and forensic medicine in German criminal law.
At the German Association of Judges, the delegation was able to discuss legal procedures and the importance of legal and forensic medicine. They also looked at the criteria for reports and their structure, as well as issues concerning documentation.
The closing discussions took place at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Berlin, with the focus on subjects such as the cooperation between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and legal and forensic medicine and the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Moroccan guests showed a great deal of interest, actively taking part in the exchange of experiences by asking lots of questions and making remarks on the status of legal and forensic medicine in both countries. They were able to address various topics intensively during the talks, allowing them to gain a deep insight into the way legal and forensic medicine works in Germany.
There continues to be a great requirement for advice in Morocco. The joint expert discussions and events will continue to take place as part of this project until the end of 2019.
The experts participating in the seminar: Prof. Hansjürgen Bratzke, Hafid Bahaddouh, Senior Public Prosecutor Ralph Knispel, Dr. Arnd Wöhler (IRZ) (from right to left)
On 17 and 18 July 2017, the IRZ organised a seminar in Rabat on the “Possibilities of legal and forensic medicine for judges and public prosecutors”, in cooperation with the Moroccan Ministry of Justice. This was the first event held as part of the “Cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of legal and forensic medicine, with particular consideration paid to the concerns of the Moroccan justice system” project, which the IRZ will coordinate between 2017 and 2019 as part of the project financed by the German Foreign Office (Transformation partnerships with North Africa/the Middle East).
The objective of the two-day seminar was to point out to the attending Moroccan judges and public prosecutors the potential offered by legal and forensic medicine and the close cooperation between legal and forensic medicine and the justice system, using German experience as an example. The main focus was on elements of guaranteeing the independence of legal and forensic medicine and, in particular, on the significance of forensic reports when it comes to decision-making by public prosecutors and lawyers.
The following experts were appointed by the IRZ to take part:
Prof. Dr. Hansjürgen Bratzke, former Head of the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine at the University of Frankfurt,
Senior Public Prosecutor Ralph Knispel, Head of Department at the Public Prosecutor's Office in Berlin and Head of the Vereinigung Berliner Staatsanwälte e.V. (Berlin association of public prosecutors) and
Hafid Bahaddouh, Criminal Law Division at the Moroccan Ministry of Justice.
The experts led an intense exchange of information and experience on the status of legal and forensic medicine in both countries with their Moroccan colleagues. The Moroccan justice system has recognised the importance of legal and forensic medicine in law enforcement and sentencing criminals and would like to expand the cooperation in this field significantly.
Only 13 registered forensic scientists are currently active in the whole of Morocco. There is no comprehensive system in place for the continued training of judges and public prosecutors in legal and forensic medicine. This currently takes place within the framework of accompanying courses at the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine at the University of Casablanca.
There is also an apparent lack of binding rules of procedure in Morocco, e.g. for the use of forensic reports by the justice system, which is managed differently by individual public prosecutor’s offices and courts.
And so there continues to be a great requirement for advice in Morocco, which should be the initial basis of the work of this project.
The seminar received a very positive response from all participants and the expert discussions were correspondingly intense.
The project activities are set to continue in the autumn with a study visit by a Moroccan delegation to Berlin.
