9 June 2026
The development of effective criminal justice systems within a rule-of-law framework while respecting human rights is necessary to ensure those involved in terrorist acts are brought to justice. However, in an ever evolving legal and technological landscape, more must be done to ensure that such systems keep up with transformational shifts to remain robust and capable.
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) – organized its annual plenary meeting on the margins of the 26th Coordinating Committee Meeting to discuss recent developments and upcoming priorities. Bringing together governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector, the side event acted as a platform for activity reporting and the sharing of good practices and lessons learned for human rights-compliant counterterrorism measures.
In particular, the session explored how authorities can leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for operational efficiency, such as streamlining case management, transcribing audio, and extracting insights from complex data, while implementing safeguards to ensure that such applications are rights-based and compliant with international law. Participants discussed the stance that public authorities should uphold human rights obligations when procuring AI systems from the private sector that comply with those rights.
Furthermore, the Working Group surveyed Members and partners on emerging counterterrorism challenges and relevant priorities to inform future activities in the realm of criminal justice and the rule of law in counterterrorism cases. Under the Italy-Nigeria mandate, the Working Group continues to implement its 2024-2026 Work Plan which includes exploring new criminal justice issues in counterterrorism and developing relevant guidelines, operationalizing existing good practices tailored to local needs, and adopting evaluation measures that align with the Working Group’s capacity and needs.