From satisfied Eurojust ‘client’ to eager new French National Member
Baudoin Thouvenot became the new National Member for France at Eurojust on 1 September, replacing Frédéric Baab. Mr Thouvenot is a career investigative judge.
He was 12 years old when he decided on his future professional path, and he never changed course. His first appointment as an investigative judge was with the Court of Dunkerque in 1991, followed by several posts in the jurisdictions of the Court of Paris.
His last appointment was as Dean of the Investigative Judges for the Court of Paris. For 10 of his 15 years as an investigative judge for the Court of Paris, Mr Thouvenot was associated with the JIRS of Paris (Interregional specialised jurisdiction, dealing with organised crime).
In that role, he began attending Eurojust coordination meetings starting in 2003, and became familiar with its work. Mr Thouvenot became a convinced ‘client’ of Eurojust over the years, pleasantly surprised and satisfied with what could be achieved in a case, even after a one-day coordination meeting. He said, ‘Eurojust is a practical and efficient means for judicial cooperation’.
In 2006, Mr Thouvenot became involved in a three-part documentary film project on ‘Judicial Europe’, focusing on cases concerning trafficked women, and demonstrating judicial cooperation in action, based on his own expertise and experiences.
Mr Thouvenot sees his mandate as French National Member at Eurojust as a logical step in his career. He said, ‘I am eager to enrich my knowledge by learning about the different judicial systems and feel strongly that, in terms of judicial cooperation, there are no “small countries”; there are only magistrates fighting crime across borders. I am looking forward to working hand-in-hand with all my colleagues and imparting a strong European spirit in the College’.
Photo © Eurojust.
