In February 2019, the IIJ convened a Curriculum Development Expert Meeting for a new IIJ Core Course on Using Intelligence to Generate Evidence for Terrorism Investigations and Prosecutions. The Expert Meeting, held in Malta with the support of the U.S. Department of State, brought together 20 practitioners and experts, among them representatives of 13 different countries from across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. The group included adult education, judicial and prosecutorial training specialists, as well as judges, prosecutors, and investigators with deep experience in this area.
During the two-day workshop, the participants discussed the challenges that practitioners from different regions face in using intelligence information and materials in civilian criminal investigations and prosecutions of terrorism crimes. Practitioners presented on specific investigations they had led, cases they had prosecuted or adjudicated, and legislation they had relied on in their work, all involving the use of classified intelligence. They discussed similarities and differences in how their countries’ systems (both common and civil law) address the twin challenges of protecting the sources that collected intelligence and methods of collection while at the same time ensuring that a defendant’s right to a fair trial is upheld. These experts made a significant contribution to the development of the new curriculum, which the IIJ will offer to justice sector practitioners twice a year, beginning later in 2019.
For more information on the IIJ Core Course, please contact Director, Programmatic Unit, Gail Malone.