1. Open borders as a result of developing European integration, immediate money transfer from one country to another and increased mobility in general not only facilitate free movement of persons and goods. New forms of border-crossing and profit seeking crime have also become a serious threat to democratic societies and now affect the rule of law.

2. European judges are confronted by a growing number of criminal cases involving new forms of organised crime, such as drug trafficking, illegal trafficking in migrants, computer and cybercrimes, terrorism, money laundering, environmental crimes, national and international corruption.

3. Judicial co-operation between different legal systems therefore becomes of particular importance. The present state of this co-operation, ruled by the current international conventions, is marked by time-consuming formalism including unnecessary administrative and diplomatic procedures impeding quick and direct contact between the national judicial authorities.

4. There are different opinions of the extent to which there should be direct contact between the judicial authorities of various countries. The matter is political and should be resolved as such. It is however the considered opinion of the European judges, based on experience, that co-operation must be maximised and direct access facilitated as much as possible, if border crossing delinquency is to be effectively dealt with.

5. Anticipating thorough reform in this area, we find that such steps that are practical and effective now and in the future ought to be taken immediately, irrespective of the scope of reform. In this context the European Association of Judges, representing judges in 29 European countries, therefore offers its resources for a joint project with the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Executive Committee of the Convention for Applying the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985, and invites all other interested European Authorities to develop and generate a handbook in English and French of

* all relevant national legal texts of substantive and procedural law with regard to cross border crime;

* a list of addresses and telephone numbers of judges and prosecutors, at least courts and public attorney offices dealing with criminal cases in the member states of the Council of Europe including a general description of their national competence;

* a dictionary with relevant legal terms in English and French.

6. The European Association of Judges believes that such a manual would represent an effective first step towards an European judiciary directly communicating, acting promptly and efficiently in the fight against new forms of organised cross border crime which threaten to destroy society and acting in the interest of the victims as well as democratic society in a state ruled by law.