The origin of this network is the multi-disciplinary group for the prevention and prosecution of organized crime (MDG) which existed in the EU Council due to the frequency the organised crime is carrying out their activities in different countries, making it necessary the international cooperation of justice and police for their prosecution, given the delays such a need for cooperation introduces in the prevention and prosecution activities.

On the level of judicial cooperation, it was recommended to create a "European Judicial Network" to facilitate the international judicial cooperation, given the success obtained by networks of similar kind on the police level.

With this precedent, the “European Judicial Network” was created by means of the Common Action of 29th of June of 1998 adopted by the EU Council pursuant to article K 3 of the EU Treaty, concerning the creation of the European Judicial Network. After the European Council celebrated in Tampere on the 15th and 16th of October of 1999, it turned into an essential tool with the purpose of creating a European judicial space of freedom, safety and justice.

The purpose of the network is to link together a number of persons within each member state of the EU to facilitate the required data to start up any judicial cooperation activity, pursuant to the laws in each State, speeding up the administrative processes required for the cooperation demands.

Regarding the focus of the Network, the Common Action which originated its creation makes a special reference to the cooperation for prosecuting “serious crime”, such as organized crime, corruption, drug smuggling or terrorism, although given the drafting of the rule ("in particular to fight serious crime"), it does not exclude the possibility of the network intervening in other cases, in other international judicial cooperation of criminal character.

Regarding its functioning, the selected cooperation tool is the establishment of a network of judicial contact persons among the different Member States, that should be appointed by each country according to their circumstances, covering the whole of the territory and knowing at least one other official language of other EU state.

The basic functions of the contact persons are:

• Facilitating judicial cooperation among the State Members.
• If needed, travelling to meet the contact points of other State Members.
• Providing the local judicial authorities of their country the needed legal and practical information.
• Providing the local judicial authorities of the rest of countries the needed legal and practical information.
• Improving the coordination of the judicial cases.

The most complex of the functions above-mentioned is the information function, given the high number of existing legal tools, and establishing mechanisms of direct communication. The European Judicial Atlas was then created, because of the need for a tool helping the local judicial authorities of each Member State to immediately identify the competent judicial authority in another Member State.

Together with the foregoing, and as another product of this Network, we can remark the existence of the “Belgian datasheets”, 42 technical datasheet related to the different research measures (searches, witness hearing, blocking of assets etc.) with the explanation of the ways of proceeding used in each State Member, so that the information needed by a Magistrate to initiate a measure in another State Member is available.

In Spain, the contact persons are:

• From the Ministry of Justice, the Sub-director General of International Legal Cooperation.
• From the General Council of the Judiciary, the member of the International Relationship Committee and an Attorney of the International Relationship Services.
• From the Public Prosecution Office.
• Four contact persons in:
  • the General Public Prosecution Office
  • the Special Anti-drug Prosecution Office.
  • the National Prosecution office with competences in issues related to terrorism and extradition.
  • the Special Anti-corruption Prosecution Office.