Over 50 representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Türkiye, as well as judges and prosecutors in charge of handling and managing requests for international cooperation in criminal matters participated in two Trainings of Trainers (ToT) sessions held in Ankara on 19-21 December 2022 and 9-11 January 2023. The sessions were organised with the support of the Ministry of Justice and aimed at establishing a pool of competent trainers to provide subsequent trainings to their peers throughout 2023. 

The presentations given by the Council of Europe international and national experts focused on the most common international judicial cooperation measures, including mutual legal assistance (MLA) and extradition. The first part of the training covered training methodologies with the aim of expanding future trainers’ skills. As a follow-up, the experts provided an overview of some core principles, such as dealing with concurrent jurisdiction cases, criminal jurisdiction, drafting an MLA request, building and using networks, grounds for refusal, etc. 
The last part of the training was dedicated to a presentation of the different steps in the extradition process, grounds for refusal and practical exercises. Throughout the trainings, both international good practices and relevant Turkish laws and practices were presented and discussed with the future trainers.

Participants actively contributed to the trainings by sharing their practical experience but also the challenges they face. The Majority of them reported that their knowledge on mutual legal assistance and extradition was increased as a result of the training.

The project ‘Improving International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Turkey’ is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.