Criminal legal aid between Hungary and other Member States of the European Union will become swifter, the detection of crimes will become more effective and in consequence, local criminal proceedings requiring international cooperation will be closed faster. Additionally, judicial cooperation in criminal cases will become more efficient in the wake of the bill on criminal cooperation with the Member States of the EU which Parliament will begin to debate today.

The globalisation of crime and, in particular, the ever wider spread of organised crime that knows no state borders poses an increasing threat to every country and every society. The fight against crime, the prevention and detection of crimes, the implementation of criminal proceedings and the enforcement of prison sentences imposed on a final and absolute basis have for many years been impossible without the close and effective cooperation of the individual states and their judicial authorities. The phenomenon of cross-border organised crime deserves particular attention in the European Union that guarantees the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital (and of crime in combination with these) but where each Member State has its own judicial and crime fighting regime.

The purpose of the new legislation regulating criminal cooperation with Member States of the EU is to create and to continuously develop a sophisticated mechanism covering the fundamental areas of criminal cooperation, with regard to the practical experiences that have emerged in the course of the application of the law and through the passage of rules for the implementation of the EU legislation covering this field, which effectively enforces the principle of the mutual recognition of decisions adopted by the authorities of the Member States. Mutual trust and understanding between the legal systems of the Member States on the foundations of this principle may contribute to improved efficiency in cooperation between the Member States.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)