CT JUST: Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism

Context

Terrorist organisations continue to pose significant security risks across multiple regions, including the Middle East, the Maghreb, the Sahel, and Central and South-East Asia. In the MENA region, the threat remains high, particularly in Libya, Syria, and Iraq, where instability persists. After the defeat of Daesh in Syria, the group evolved into a covert network and later entrenched itself as an insurgent force.

The Sahel region has seen rising instability in recent years, driven by areas with limited or absent state control—especially in rural and semi-desert zones—along with porous borders. These factors create opportunities for terrorist and criminal groups to operate freely. This challenge is most acute in border regions, such as between Niger and Libya, Niger and Mali, and around the Lake Chad basin and Burkina Faso.

The Greater Horn of Africa, given its proximity to the Arabian Peninsula and its porous borders, is similarly vulnerable to terrorism, with ongoing radicalisation and terrorism affecting the region. Terrorist activity in the region is notably influenced by ongoing threats in Somalia and Mozambique.

Across these areas, terrorist groups are increasingly collaborating across national and regional borders, complicating the work of judicial and law enforcement agencies. Terrorism cases present significant challenges in terms of investigation, gathering of admissible evidence, prosecution, and often, international cooperation and information sharing. To address these complex and evolving threats, coordinated responses are needed at national, regional, trans-regional, and multilateral levels.

Overall objective

This project aims to disrupt terrorist networks and the activities of recruiters to terrorism and bring terrorists to justice while continuing to respect human rights, gender equality and international law.
 

Specific objectives

• To strengthen the counter-terrorism criminal justice chain.
• To strengthen preventive and operational capacities.
• To promote multilateral and transregional cooperation in counter-terrorism. 

Concrete activities

• Training of Trainers (ToT) in Crime Scene Management after terrorist attacks, equipping national actors to cascade knowledge.
• Strategic crisis management exercises (TTX), including anticipation, tools for crisis managers, and crisis communication modules.
• Workshops on the role of women in law enforcement agencies (LEA) in counterterrorism and the investigation of female FTFs.
• High-level institutional meetings between EUROJUST, LAS, GCC to operationalise agreements and strengthen judicial cooperation.
• Capacity-building with LAS Member States’ judicial authorities on tools for international judicial cooperation in counterterrorism.
• Study visits to EU institutions and agencies (e.g. ECHR, Eurojust, Europol, SIRENE Offices).
• Forensic training on complex crime scenes incorporating a gender perspective, to improve evidence handling in CT contexts.
• Creation of networks and platforms to strengthen cooperation among different actors in counterterrorism and enhace capabilities, facilitating information exchange.

Expected results

• Authorities gain stronger technical capacities in intelligence and detection of terrorist activities.
• Investigations are enhanced through more effective evidence collection and handling.
• Mechanisms for international judicial and police cooperation are reinforced, facilitating cross-border collaboration against terrorism.
• Victims of terrorist attacks see their rights better protected throughout investigations and judicial processes.
• National operational capacities are strengthened, enabling authorities to respond more effectively to terrorism threats.
• Inter-agency coordination is improved, ensuring better collaboration among security and justice actors.
• Training capacities within relevant institutions and academic settings are expanded, expertise in counter-terrorism is sustainable.
• Transregional cooperation is enhanced, fostering stronger ties and exchanges between regions.
• Multilateral cooperation across the MENA and West Africa regions is promoted, building a more coordinated regional approach to counter-terrorism.

Expected achievements

• 4 geographic working groups established with a total of 17 countries, facilitating the exchange of best practices in counterterrorism.
• 6 threat analysis insights produced and over 50 institutions engaged as regular partners.
• 119 law enforcement officials (64% women) trained in gender-inclusive investigation techniques.
• A shared framework for legal and procedural harmonisation consolidated for gender inclusion among 22 law enforcement institutions, across 14 countries in the MENA and West Africa regions.
• 25 participants completed 3 specialised training sessions in the use of digital investigation tools to counter terrorism in Jordan.
• A unified legal and procedural framework promoted in the use of digital investigation tools in Jordan.
• 32 high-ranking officers from the École Supérieure des Forces de Sécurité Intérieure (ESFSI) in Tunisia trained in crisis management.
• Early warning systems, indicators, and analytical techniques, introduced with practical application exercises in Tunisia.
• CT JUST-facilitated judicial cooperation: CT JUST supported Eurojust in establishing the first structured frameworks for direct judicial cooperation with the League of Arab States (LAS), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on shared counter-terrorism priorities.
• A dedicated Eurojust contact point was formally appointed in Iraq before Eurojust, enabling EU Member States to access UNITAD files, while written commitments were secured to create additional contact points in other LAS member states.
• 6 publications issued in the field of counterterrorism (studies, working papers, white books and training manuals).