Cooperation between Italy and African countries: three training courses completed in Cameroon, Ghana and Niger
Three training courses for magistrates from Cameroon, Ghana, and Niger have been successfully completed. The courses were organized as part of a judicial cooperation project funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and coordinated by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, with the collaboration of local counterparts.
The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), has recently organized three training courses for magistrates from Cameroon (“International judicial cooperation in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing,” Yaoundé, May 5-8, 2025), Ghana ("International Judicial Cooperation,“ in Accra, May 8-9, 2025) and Niger (”Alternatives to Detention and Imprisonment," in Niamey, May 12-15, 2025).
The organization of these new advanced training courses for local judicial actors is part of the project “Rule of Law and Cooperation in Africa (2024-2025)”, coordinated by Lorenzo Gasbarri, assistant professor in international law at the Dirpolis Institute, which has seen the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies engaged for several years in training and capacity-building activities in various African countries. The support provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian embassies in the countries concerned has always been crucial to the success of this activity.
The course in Yaoundé, held in partnership with the Ecole Nationale D'Administration et De Magistrature, aims to strengthen the skills of Cameroonian magistrates in the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing. The course benefits from the participation of leading Italian and African experts, including Lorenzo SALAZAR, Deputy Attorney General at the Court of Appeal of Naples, contact point for the European Judicial Network and national correspondent for Eurojust.
The training activities in Accra, organized in collaboration with the Judicial Training Center, focused on the theme of international judicial cooperation, with the aim of strengthening the knowledge and skills of local magistrates regarding the national and international regulatory framework on judicial cooperation, including through the analysis of case studies and the latest judicial practices.
The course was taught by Alberto PERDUCA, former Public Prosecutor with extensive experience in international judicial cooperation, and Afua Boatemaa YAKHOENE, researcher at the University of Accra.
The training activities in Niamey were organized in collaboration with the École de Formation Judiciaire du Niger (EFJN). The training aims to train Nigerien magistrates on the adoption of alternative measures to detention, promoting a more equitable, effective, and human rights-respecting criminal justice system. Course participants benefited from the experience of Apollin KOAGNE ZOUAPET, legal officer at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and Sylvie MANKENTSOP, a Cameroonian magistrate.
The importance of these initiatives was highlighted by the Italian Ambassador to Accra, Laura Ranalli, and the Deputy Head of Mission in Niamey, Dr. Anna Quattrone, who presided over the closing ceremonies.
