Nordic Council of Ministers for Justice Affairs (MR-JUST)
The Nordic Council of Ministers for Justice Affairs (MR-JUST) is responsible for Nordic intergovernmental co-operation in this sphere.
The ministers meet once a year to discuss and make decisions in areas where co-operation generates Nordic synergies, i.e. where the countries can achieve more together than on our own.
Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Justice Affairs (ÄK-JUST), which comprises representatives of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland, meets at least three times a year and takes care of the practical work and preparations for meetings of MR-LAG.
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretariat in Copenhagen is responsible for the day-to-day running of Nordic inter-governmental co-operation. The Secretariat also houses the Department for Administration and Law, which prepares questions for submission to MR-JUST. The Secretariat is also responsible for implementing decisions once they have been taken.
The justice ministers also work with their colleagues from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with whom they meet once a year to discuss joint priorities. The senior civil servants of these countries also work together on a regular basis.
Nordic co-operation on legislative affairs also involves promoting Nordic contacts, discussions and co-ordination at senior official and political level in other international forums, e.g. the Council of Europe and the United Nations (UN).
Objectives and visions
The political framework for the work on legislative affairs consists of a programme for co-operation, supplemented by specific initiatives and the targets set in the annual programme for the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The objective is to promote the rule of law, including removing unnecessary obstacles to cross-border freedom of movement and contact between the people of the Region,
promote the uniform implementation of EU and EEA regulations and make an effective contribution to forums that draw up international rules and regulations.