Digital Criminal Justice Programme

The fight against complex cross-border crimes is being driven forward by innovative solutions. While traditional methods have been effective in the past, European prosecution authorities are making progress in establishing a secure and efficient communication infrastructure, enabling swift and seamless data exchange and more effective collaboration in the pursuit of justice.

To address this technological gap, Eurojust’s Digital Criminal Justice (DCJ) Programme is the engine of the Agency’s digitalisation efforts. It aims to modernising judicial cooperation functions in the European Union and beyond, by supporting national prosecutors with a redesigned Case Management System (CMS), access to a secure communication channel allowing them to exchange information with national authorities and other partners (JUDEX), and a connection to external systems (JITs Collaboration Platform and ECRIS-TCN).

The DCJ Programme:

  • improves coordination in cross-border investigations,
  • makes it easier to identify links between cases,
  • allows Eurojust and our partners to process, store and manage data more efficiently,
  • enables paperless communication and increased interoperability, and
  • helps in working together with countries and organisations outside of the EU to fight cross-border crime.

The programme is governed by representatives from Eurojust and the European Commission. Several elements are directly dependant on projects being developed by eu-LISA (ECRIS-TCN and JITs Collaboration Platform) and the European Commission (JUDEX).

Programme elements

Currently, the set-up of the following elements are under the umbrella of the Eurojust Digital Criminal Justice Programme:

  • A new, modern Case Management System for Eurojust to support the Agency’s operational work;
  • The access to JUDEX, the Justice Digital Exchange System, connecting Eurojust to competent national authorities and supporting the secure and structured exchange of operational data and communication to facilitate judicial cooperation;
  • The tasks allocated to Eurojust with regards to the JITs Collaboration Platform, an online collaborative environment that will enable JIT members and participants to safely exchange digital information and evidence and allow for secure electronic communication;
  • The access to other external systems to fulfil Eurojust’s mandate, such as ECRIS-TCN, the European Criminal Records Information System - Third Country Nationals, a tool that allows the exchange of criminal records information about non-EU citizens and stateless persons across EU Member States.

The DCJ Programme and the new CMS project are set to unfold in phases, with full operational capacity targeted by the end of Phase 2. Phase 3 will then build upon the capabilities delivered, addressing identified gaps and incorporating extra features to enhance the overall system and improve the end user experience. Furthermore, it shall ensure a seamless integration with other externally developed systems, such as JUDEX and ECRIS‐TCN, as well as other future solutions within the DCJ ecosystem. After 2027, the programme continues with an operations and maintenance phase, running at least until 2030.

Within this context, the JITs Collaboration Platform is scheduled to enter into operations in December 2025, ECRIS-TCN is foreseen for Q1-Q2 2026 and JUDEX Implementing Acts for Eurojust is expected by November 2027.

Latest developments

Latest developments

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In accordance with Art. 22a of the Eurojust Regulation, secure digital communication and data exchange between competent national authorities and Eurojust shall be carried out through the decentralised IT system (i.e. JUDEX and its underlying e-CODEX infrastructure). The European Commission (responsible for the overall implementation) shall adopt the Implementing Acts necessary for the establishment and use of the JUDEX module for the digital exchanges under the Eurojust Regulation by 1 November 2025, which are to enter into force two years after (November 2027).

The Eurojust JUDEX project, whose formalisation is currently ongoing, will aim at:

  • securing the coverage of Eurojust business needs in the functional implementation of JUDEX as well as the technical connection to the JUDEX/e-CODEX systems;
  • integrating with the new CMS to ensure that the solution fits in the Eurojust’s overall ICT architecture and the Agency can continue fulfilling its role in the judicial cooperation.

The project scope includes the participation at the several Committees with Member States to prepare the Implementing Acts and in the following the technical implementation and business process updates, in close coordination with external stakeholders such as the European Commission and eu-LISA.

The Eurojust JITs CP project aims at implementing the responsibilities assigned to Eurojust by the JITs CP Regulation. The project's primary objectives are to:

  • ensure Eurojust participants have access to the JITs CP,
  • implement a secure connection between the Eurojust JITs System and the JITs CP for the transferring of JITs funding-related data; and
  • provide business support services to facilitate the use of the platform (via JITs Network Secretariat).

The project scope includes technical implementation, business process updates, representation and coordination with external stakeholders such as eu-LISA (responsible for the overall implementation of the platform) and the European Commission. The Platform is expected to start its operational phase in December 2025.

The new CMS 2.2 project started in March and aims to deliver a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) covering the functions of the current CMS with state-of-the-art technology, as well as additional features foreseen in the Eurojust Regulation (e.g. adjusted retention periods).

Phase 2 aims to deliver an operational CMS in alignment with the Eurojust Regulation, and it’s been further divided in several projects.

The new CMS 2.1 project (Q3 2024 - beginning of Q1 2025) showed through a Proof of Concept how the software can ensure visibility and sharing of data at the level of granularity required by Eurojust.

The DCJ Programme reached its first major milestone completing the first phase of the new CMS project implementation. The focus was on implementing the core functionalities of the current Case Management System into the new solution.

Within the DCJ Programme framework and governance structure, two projects were initiated to set up the new CMS:

  • a Business Transformation Project to analyse, optimise and redefine existing business processes, policies and roles; and
  • a Technology Implementation Project, which will translate business requirements into technical solutions and initiate the design and development of the new CMS and related IT infrastructure in a phased approach.

In addition to the implementation of the new CMS, the DCJ Programme will encompass several externally developed projects that support Eurojust's alignment with the EU's interoperability agenda. These initiatives include the implementation of Eurojust's responsibilities within the Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) Collaboration Platform, ECRIS-TCN and JUDEX, all of which are critical to fulfilling Eurojust's role in the EU's judicial cooperation landscape.

The Eurojust Regulation was amended, providing the legal basis for the development of a modernised Eurojust Case Management System (CMS) and establishing a decentralised IT system as the default channel for communication between Eurojust and the Member States. The amendment also reinforces the digital exchange of information in terrorism cases through the Counter-Terrorism Register (CTR) and simplifies the cooperation with third countries by providing an explicit legal basis for Eurojust’s Liaison Prosecutors to access the CMS.

The Regulation requires the CMS to be connected to a network of IT systems and interoperable e-CODEX access points in the Member States. Furthermore, it provides for the semi-automated and structured transmission of information from national registers to Eurojust. The Regulation also defines access to the CMS at the national level by the national correspondents for Eurojust, the national correspondents for issues relating to the competence of the EPPO and the national correspondents for Eurojust for terrorism matters.

Eurojust launched the Market Research project to select a new CMS solution that will interact with other existing and future solutions of DoJ, and will enable Eurojust to fulfil its mandate in the most efficient way. The project started in November 2021 and lasted until May 2022, with the delivery of a final report. The final report and a recommendation for the CMS solution were presented to the College in July 2022.
A package of legislative initiatives were prepared in consultation with Eurojust. Details can be found on the European Commission website.

ECRIS-TCN will be a centralised EU database with information held by Member State(s) on convictions of third-country nationals and stateless persons.

The Eurojust ECRIS-TCN project aims at implementing the responsibilities assigned to Eurojust by the ECRIS-TCN Regulation. The project's primary objectives are to ensure Eurojust access to ECRIS-TCN:

  • for casework purposes in line with Article 14 ECRIS-TCN Regulation, i.e. for fulfilling our tasks under Article 2 of the Eurojust Regulation;
  • to serve as contact point for third countries and international organisations for queries regarding information on which Member States, if any, hold criminal records information on a third-country national, as set out by Article 17 ECRIS-TCN Regulation.

The project scope includes technical implementation, business process updates, representation and coordination with external stakeholders such as eu-LISA (responsible for the overall implementation of the platform) and the European Commission. ECRTIS-TCN is expected to start its operational phase in Q1-Q2 2026.

A communication was presented with comprehensive proposals to enhance the digitalisation of justice systems. One of the highlights was the recognised need for a new Eurojust Case Management System, and in the context of Counter Terrorism, the need to improve Eurojust’s data-processing framework. Read the press release issued by the European Commission.

The study concluded with a final report in which seven solutions to address the business needs were presented:

  • an underlying secure communication channel to allow for the exchange of messages, information and evidence electronically across borders in a secure way;
  • a communication tool to enable the secure electronic exchange of judicial cooperation requests and mutual recognition/mutual legal assistance forms, information, messages and evidence;
  • the redesigned Eurojust Case Management System to allow its proper functioning and ensure it addresses the needs of its users;
  • a JIT Collaboration Platform to set up, plan and coordinate JIT operations, allowing easy communication, as well as the electronic sharing of large amounts of information and evidence between JIT partners;
  • an exchange of data between the JHA agencies and EU bodies active in the area of judicial cooperation (Eurojust, Europol, Frontex, the EPPO and OLAF);
  • a judicial cases cross-check to be able to search for case-related information and identify links among cases that are being investigated in other Member States or JHA agencies and EU bodies; and
  • a large files solution to overcome the limited attachment sizes authorised by mail servers and exchange large amounts of information electronically.

Study launched to further discuss, develop and implement the DCJ concept proposed by Eurojust, with the goal of assessing the business needs of judicial practitioners and identifying digital measures to improve the cross-border cooperation in criminal matters. It included strategic interviews with various services of the European Commission and other EU Agencies, an online web-based survey, as well as field visits.

The DCJ Study identified a number of needs across the EU, including:

  1. Ability to securely communicate and exchange information digitally
  2. Easily manage data and ensure its quality and alignment with data protection principles
  3. Interoperability with other (national-EU) systems
  4. Access to digital support tools
  5. Identification of links between cases
  6. Ease the process of setting up and operating joint investigation teams.
Eurojust presented to the Council of the European Union the need for a standardised set of digital tools to support efficient interaction and judicial cooperation within the European Union. These tools would incorporate the latest information technologies within a reliable and secure centralised IT infrastructure, known as Digital Criminal Justice (DCJ).

 

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