21 October 2025
To effectively prosecute terrorists and violent extremists, it is critical to develop robust and comprehensive criminal justice systems that operate within a rule-of-law framework while respecting human rights. These systems act as strong deterrents to terrorism, ensuring that nefarious actors are brought to justice and human rights are protected.
To that end, the Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law Working Group – co-chaired by Italy and Nigeria, with the support of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) and the EU – organized its annual plenary meeting on the margins of the 25th Coordinating Committee Meeting to showcase recent activities and upcoming priorities, including transitional justice. Bringing together governments, international organizations, and civil society organizations, the side event acted as a platform for information exchange on counterterrorism, human rights, the rule of law, legal and policy reforms, and key projects.
The Working Group highlighted the newly launched GCTF Protection of Witnesses and Criminal Justice Officials Toolkit. The toolkit, which provides legal practitioners and relevant policymakers with actionable resources* related to the protection of witnesses and criminal justice officials during trials, operationalizes Good Practices 4 and 7 of the GCTF Hague Memorandum on Good Practices of the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses. The Working Group also presented their work to date and future priorities to implement the Fair Trial Rights Survey Report which was developed with the support of the European Union-funded CT PHARE project spearheaded by the IIJ.
In addition, the plenary meeting featured a session on the intersection of transitional justice and counterterrorism. Specifically, participants examined how key transitional justice tools including criminal accountability, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence can be effectively integrated into counterterrorism strategies. Illustrative of the Working Group’s efforts to explore new criminal justice issues in counterterrorism, the session emphasized the need for inclusive and rights-based approaches to respond to the complexity of terrorism-affected areas.
*GCTF Recommendations, Memoranda, Good Practices and other guiding documents are non-binding, and their implementation should always respect national sovereignty and consider countries' varied histories, cultures, legal systems, and norms.