Kick-off meeting of the European Network of Prosecutors on Aviation Cases
On Tuesday, 23 September, the Aviation Expertise Centre of the Dutch Public Prosecution Service organised the launch of a new European network of prosecutors for aviation cases. This is an important step towards achieving one of the Centre’s key ambitions: to establish a network of European prosecutors focusing on aviation-related matters.
The network has been created to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences on topics such as Just Culture*, drones, unruly passengers and laser incidents. It is intended as a platform for exchanging insights and expertise on aviation cases.
The launch took place in Slovenia, alongside the Eurocontrol Just Culture Conference. During the conference, aviation prosecutor Katja van Bijsterveldt gave a presentation on the prosecutor's perspective on Just Culture and the role of automation and AI. Several prosecutors and judges attending the conference also joined the launch event.
Those present included prosecutors and judges from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Portugal and North Macedonia.
Prosecutors from Estonia, Germany, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have confirmed that they will join the network, but were unable to attend the launch.
The participants explored how Just Culture is implemented in different member states and shared their national experiences. This was supported by valuable input collected in advance through a questionnaire. It was agreed that the group will meet online on a regular basis to continue discussions on Just Culture and to exchange knowledge and experiences in the future.
The aviation prosecutor reflected positively on the meeting: ‘It was a promising start to an important network!’
*Just Culture is defined in aviation regulation as a culture in which individuals are not punished for actions, omissions, or decisions that are commensurate with their training and experience, but where wilful violations and gross negligence are not tolerated. The underlying idea is that people will feel freer to report incidents, thereby enabling safety measures to be taken based on these reports.
