On 5 May 2021, IRZ organised a joint online event with the Senegalese Ministry of Justice on the “Digitalisation of the Justice System in Criminal Proceedings in Germany and Senegal”. The seminar continued the exchange of experiences on the subject of the digitalisation of the justice system, which had begun in 2020, with the focus this time being on digitalisation processes in criminal proceedings and in prisons.
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular have clearly underlined the need to introduce a digital justice system. In the run-up to the event, discussions focussed on:
access to files and case information for all people concerned
the electronic archiving of documents
networking between the different judicial bodies and the departments of the Ministry of Justice, including prison services and other ministries concerned.
The event therefore looked at digitalisation trends in criminal proceedings in Germany and Senegal, as well as current developments in this area, such as remote proceedings and the digital questioning and hearing of witnesses. Another area of focus was the opportunities and challenges presented by digitalisation processes in prisons.
The following IRZ experts took part in the seminar:
Jasmin Kocak, a desk officer from division R B 2 “Criminal proceedings in courts of law” at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection
Dr. Lars Bierschenk, a judge at the Regional Court of Bonn, assigned to the Central IT service of the Justice department for NRW (ITD) at the Higher Regional court of Cologne.
Pascal Décarpes, international consultant
The online event took place as part of the working programme on legal cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Senegalese Ministry of Justice. IRZ plans to continue its cooperation with the Senegalese justice system in this area and to cover further important subjects in the area of criminal law and the prison system.
On 3 November 2020, IRZ together with the Senegalese Ministry of Justice organised an online exchange of experiences on the digitalisation of the justice system. Because of the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic in particular, more attention is being paid to the subject of digitalisation in many areas of our lives and work. It is currently the subject of much discussion in the justice system, where there are calls for an increase in digitalisation.
This online seminar continued a series of events on this subject with IRZ partner states in (North) Africa. In view of the current crisis, the event was designed to pay particular consideration to the electronic justice system. The main focus of the event was on the following topics:
electronic justice system and e-Justice
data security and Legal Tech
electronic mailbox and remote hearings
International experts brought their points of view and experiences from Germany, France, Tunisia and Senegal to the event and these were the subject of intense discussions. The involvement of several countries meant that various approaches could be portrayed, with the same problems often being identified.
The following experts took part on behalf of IRZ:
Dr. Lars Bierschenk, a judge at the Regional Court of Bonn
Jean Pierre Vogel-Braun, Presiding Judge at the Administrative Court of Strasbourg
Professor Hatem Rouatbi, a lawyer and member of the “Dispute Resolution and Enforcement” research laboratory at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the University of Tunis - El Manar.
The online event took place as part of the working programme between the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Senegalese Ministry of Justice, which started at the beginning of 2020.
The animated discussions during the seminar illustrated the remarkably high level of interest, as well as the highly topical and multifaceted nature of this complex subject. IRZ therefore plans to continue and intensify its partnership with the Senegalese justice system in this area.
The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, Christian Lange, MdB, and the State Secretary of the Senegalese Ministry of Justice, Aïssé Tall, during the signing of the joint work programme at the Senegalese Ministry of Justice (photo: BMJV) Senegal
On 18 February 2020 the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV), Christian Lange, MdB, and the State Secretary of the Senegalese Ministry of Justice, Aïssé Tall, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the legal cooperation between Germany and Senegal. The work programme provides for an increased cooperation in criminal law, the penal system and basic and further training for judges, public prosecutors and other members of the justice system.
IRZ has been active in Senegal as its first partner state in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2019. The Memorandum of Understanding will further strengthen the cooperation of IRZ with its Senegalese partners.
IRZ carried out the seminar “Supporting reforms in the Senegalese criminal law and combatting organised crime“ in partnership with the Senegalese Ministry of Justice as part of the signing of the work programme.
The event focussed on the following topics, amongst others:
criminal reforms and challenges in combatting organised crime
national and international legal framework conditions for the fight against organised crime in Germany and the cooperation between the competent authorities
combatting money laundering and drug and human trafficking
Stefan Schlotter from the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Frankfurt and Thomas Junge from the Office of the Public Prosecutor General in Berlin facilitated the seminar on the part of IRZ.
IRZ will intensify its work in Senegal this year. Further seminars are planned, for instance, to support reforms in criminal law and the penal system as well as with regard to the independence of the judiciary.
