Scotland's Place in Europe: security, judicial co-operation and law enforcement

Chapter One: Introduction

This paper is one of a series of policy papers flowing from the Scottish Government's Scotland's Place in Europe publications ^[4] , which set out the implications of a hard Brexit for Scotland and constructive alternatives.

The Scottish Government believes that Scotland's future is best served by continued European Union ( EU) Membership, in line with the wishes of the Scottish people as expressed in the referendum in 2016. However, if Brexit proves inevitable our interests, as defined by the First Minister in her Institute for Public Policy Research speech in 2016 ^[5] , are best protected by the United Kingdom ( UK) remaining inside the EU Single Market and Customs Union.

In the area of Justice, the Scottish Government is continuing to engage with key justice and legal bodies in Scotland to assess and plan for the full potential impact of Brexit. The Scottish Government's overarching aims are to ensure that the specific implications of Brexit for Scotland's independent justice system are taken into account in the negotiation process and that the benefits which Scotland derives from effective cross-border co-operation within the EU on justice and security matters are maintained.

The aim of this paper is to help people's understanding of how, in the case of security and criminal justice interests, continued participation in the EU Justice and Home Affairs ( JHA) criminal cross border justice and security measures benefits Scotland. The paper offers a "sectoral" insight into how a range of JHA measures currently work, why it matters so much and what is likely to be different after the UK leaves the EU.

EU Justice & Home Affairs Measures include:

• ECRIS
• EAW
• SISII
• EIO
• Joint Investigation Teams
• EUROPOL
• JITs
• EUROJUST

This paper will help inform the evidential basis for the Scottish Government's engagement with both the UK Government and the EU as negotiations continue.