PURPOSE : to establish a judicial coordination unit known as "Eurojust".
COMMUNITY MEASURE : Council Decision 2002/187/JHA setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime.
CONTENT : The objective of Eurojust is to stimulate and improve the coordination, between the different national authorities, of investigations and prosecutions in the Member States, taking into account any request emanating from a competent national authority and any information provided by any body competent by virtue of provisions adopted within the framework of the Treaties. Eurojust will also facilitate the execution of international mutual legal assistance and the implementation of extradition requests and otherwise support the competent authorities of the Member States in order to render their investigations and prosecutions more effective.
Eurojust is composed of one national member seconded by each Member State in accordance with its legal system, being a prosecutor, judge, or police officer of equivalent competence. Each national member may be assisted by one person, or with the agreement of the College, several persons. National members are subject to the national law of their Member State as regards their status. The length of a national member's term of office is to be determined by the Member State of origin. It will be such as to allow Eurojust to operate properly. Eurojust's competence covers the types of crimes in respect of which Europol is competent to act, as well as the following: computer crime; fraud and corruption and any criminal offence affecting the Community's financial interests; the laundering of the proceeds of crime; environmental crime; participation in a criminal investigation within the meaning of 98/733/JHA. With regard to the processing of personal data, such data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and information on health or sex life may be processed by Eurojust only when it is necessary for the national investigations concerned as well as for coordination within Eurojust. The Data Protection Officer is to be informed immediately if there is recourse to this provision. The Decision gives a right of access to personal data held by Eurojust, which can be denied under specified circumstances. A review of the need to store personal data will be carried out every three years after they were entered.
Each year, the Presidency of the Council is to forward a report to the European Parliament on the work carried out by Eurojust and on the activities of the Joint Supervisory Body, which is to have the task of monitoring Eurojust's activities.
ENTRY INTO FORCE : 06/03/02. On that date the Provisional Judicial Cooperation Unit shall cease to exist.�