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Clare Connelly from Faculty of Advocates stresses the importance of mutual cooperation going forward and adds "time is of the essence".

Assistant Procurator Fiscal Helen Nisbet says the unique nature of the Scottish legal system must be taken account of.

Dr Philip Glover from the University of Aberdeen says even the US post Snowden has been able to maintain cooperation with the EU.

Dr Glover says he feels fundamentally optimistic that whatever the Brexit deal there will be a comprehensive settlement on policing and criminal justice.

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Europol, the European Union's law enforcement organisation, was founded in 1999 and employs more than 1,000 people at a cost of about £100m a year.

It is an EU-funded agency, and when the UK completes the Brexit process and no longer pays into the EU budget, it will cease to be a member.

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Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine Henderson says at the moment the UK enjoys full membership of Europol but when there is no longer full membership, there will be on ability to influence policy.

DCI Henderson says the UK is trying to eke out a unique relationship with Interpol

Michael Clancy from the Law Society of Scotland: "We will be safe the day after exit."

Mr Clancy says something may emerge that is completely different from the status quo.

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The UK government's "future partnership" paper, external made a strong case for "a bespoke relationship with Europol" after the UK leaves the European Union.

It looked at the scenarios of:

• no agreement being reached on future cooperation with Europol
• current cooperation being wound down before a new arrangement was put in place

It said: "Consideration would need to be given to ensuring that any ongoing investigations would not be affected in such a way that criminals might escape prosecution or vulnerable individuals might be rendered less safe."

And it would be difficult to find anyone in the EU who would disagree with the importance of fighting cross-border crime.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, used an article in the French newspaper Le Monde to make it clear the UK could not continue to be a member.

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Assistant Procurator Fiscal Helen Nisbet says international cooperation will not cease if there is no deal in Brexit.

Ms Nisbet says without the interdependent network that exists within the EU the result may be less effective.

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SNP MSP Marie Gougeon says there have been fears expressed by some that the UK may not meet the standards of data adequacy of the EU.

Ms Gougeon asks whether that means access to data the EU has will be lost, like the US EU privacy shield, external.

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell asks if there would be any advantage for EU member states not to cooperate over data.

Dr Philip Glover from the University of Aberdeen says it is unthinkable that any of the practitioners here would lose access to the data they currently have while the Brexit deal is thrashed out.

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Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine Henderson says there is a lot of work being done in the background to ensure people are kept safe in the transition.

"It is crystal ball time."

She reiterates there is work going on in the background.

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Last year the UK government published a "future partnership paper" as it works towards ending the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the United Kingdom after Brexit.

So what does the ECJ do, and why is it so important to the Brexit process?

The Court of Justice of the European Union - to give it its full name - is the EU's highest legal authority. It is based in Luxembourg.

It is actually composed of two separate courts - the Court of Justice and the General Court. From 2004 to 2016 there was a third court, the Civil Service Tribunal, but its work is now done by the General Court.

To avoid confusion this article will refer to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to describe the work of the entire institution.

If you want to know more detail, or look up a specific case, you can do sohere., external

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Michael Clancy from the Law Society of Scotland says he is not convinced about the EFTA court as it deals with free trade not crime.

Mr Clancy says you would have to be a member of EFTA to access the EFTA court.

Dr Philip Glover from the University of Aberdeen says the idea that there are no alternatives to the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) may be premature, pointing to the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states.

The EFTA court fulfills the judicial function within the EFTA system, interpreting the Agreement on the European Economic Area with regard to the EFTA States party to the agreement. At present those EFTA States are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

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Britain will lose influence on cross-border policing and security after Brexit, the outgoing head of Europol has told the BBC.

Rob Wainwright steps down in April, after nine years, as talks begin on what happens once the British flag leaves the Europol boardroom table.

"There will be a loss of influence, there's no doubt about that," said Mr Wainwright.

"The seat at the table will either be fully gone or half gone," he said.

"And that means there will be a loss of British influence, and I think it's a shame for the UK.

"I think it's actually a shame for our European partners as well."

Reality Check: Can the UK be part of Europol after Brexit

How will Brexit affect UK security

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Read more here.

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Assistant Procurator Fiscal Helen Nisbet from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service says the challenges of data sharing and who arbitrates in disuptes need to be addressed.

SNP MSP Ben Macpherson asks if the current reciprocity can be sustained without the European Court of Justice.

Ms Nisbet says if there is no deal the working assumption is that the Council of Europe conventions would be fallen back on.

Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine Henderson from Police Scotland warns that Norway is part of Schengen, whereas the UK is not.

Dr Philip Glover from the University of Aberdeen says retention of the databases that the EU has access to is critical.

"There is a will to make this work between the two parties to make this work and almost to keep the status quo."

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Clare Connelly from Faculty of Advocates says crime is now accepted as a global issue.

Ms Connelly says the issue of cooperation between the UK and the rest of the EU is most commonly known through the European Arrest Warrant and Europol.

However there is more cooperation that goes on and this must continue to ensure Scotland does not become a haven for certain types of criminal, she says.

The UK government wants to claw back some EU powers over justice and policing, but is likely to remain in the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) system.

The EAW is widely seen to have speeded up extradition proceedings in the EU, but there is also pressure to fix shortcomings in the system.

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What is the EAW?

The EAW operates EU-wide and replaced separate extradition arrangements between the EU member states. The EAW was introduced in January 2004, and was prompted by the international anti-terror drive after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.

A national judicial authority, such as a court, can issue an EAW to get a suspect extradited. For an EAW to be valid, the suspect must be accused of an offence incurring a maximum penalty of at least a year in prison, or must have been already sentenced to at least four months in prison.

The EAW means faster and simpler surrender procedures for suspects. EU states can no longer refuse to extradite one of their citizens on grounds of nationality. Extradition no longer requires a political decision for a suspect to be handed over. The EAW means mutual recognition of criminal justice systems in the EU.

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Dr Leandro Mancano from the University of Edinburgh says there must be a holistic approach to this.

The Schengen Information System is highlighted, which is a governmental database maintained by the European Commission.

It upports external border control and law enforcement cooperation in the Schengen states, says the academic.

A fragmented and piece-meal approach will not be effctive, he says.

The importance of the European Arrest Warrant is also highlighted by Dr Mancano.

Theresa May has called for a new "deep and special partnership" to ensure the UK and EU can continue to work together on security after Brexit.

She said new arrangements in foreign and defence policy cooperation should be effective by next year.

In a speech to the Munich Security Conference the prime minister said the UK would remain committed to Europe's security after leaving the EU.

New security arrangements have yet to be negotiated for after Brexit.

Read more here.

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Michael Clancy from the Law Society of Scotland begins by referring to Theresa May's speech to the Munich Security Conference.

Mr Clancy refers to his submission to the committee, which can be read here, external.

He says most, if not all, of the criminal areas have an element of reciprocity and creating a new EU security treay is one of the options that could be adopted.

However, Mr Clancy says there are 402 days left.

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Committee convener Margaret Mitchell introduces the witnesses:

• Assistant Procurator Fiscal Helen Nisbet from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, external
• Clare Connelly from Faculty of Advocates, external
• Michael Clancy from the Law Society of Scotland, external
• Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine Henderson from Police Scotland, external
• Dr Philip Glover from the University of Aberdeen, external
• Dr Leandro Mancano from the University of Edinburgh, external

The Justice Committee will take evidence on the impact of Brexit on policing and criminal justice from:

• Assistant Procurator Fiscal Helen Nisbet from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, external
• Clare Connelly from Faculty of Advocates, external
• Michael Clancy from the Law Society of Scotland, external
• Detective Chief Inspector Lorraine Henderson from Police Scotland, external
• Dr Philip Glover from the University of Aberdeen, external
• Dr Leandro Mancano from the University of Edinburgh, external

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Issues which might be considered include:

• Europol and Eurojust
• data-sharing for law enforcement purposes
• criminal justice tools such as the European Arrest Warrant
• and the potential scope (and likelihood) of any agreement with the EU

Read the submissions from COPFS and the Law Society of Scotland here., external