In this speech, given in Brussels on 29 January 2018, the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, the head of Scotland’s systems of prosecution and investigation of deaths, discusses, from a Scottish perspective, the challenge of transnational crime and the benefits of current European Union (EU) cooperation regimes in the prosecution of cross-border crime, in the context of the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU.
Transnational crime is a major problem for African states with corruption, trafficking of persons, drugs trafficking, environmental crime and the like posing a major threat to development and stability. This article examines three challenges that states must tackle in order to combat transnational crime effectively. The first is how to deal with criminals who operate outside the jurisdiction. The second concerns the investigation of crimes with a transnational element. The third challenge involves tracing and then recovering the proceeds of crime that have been moved out of the country where the crime occurred. Here the need for Western states to cooperate with those in Africa is highlighted. Drawing on examples from Lesotho and Nigeria in particular, it is argued that some progress is being made in meeting these challenges. However, the article notes that developing the political will to tackle transnational crime is fundamental to any lasting improvement.
Environmental law became global through the adoption of environmental treaties in the last quarter decade of the 20th century. Similarly, globalisation of criminal law accelerated when the Convention on Transnational Organised Crime 2000 (CTOC) deepened international legal cooperation between States to combat transnational crime. A protocol to the CTOC, complemented by voluntary guidelines and model legislation, could promote environmental crime harmonisation. This article argues that the time is right to bring together certain elements of international environmental and transnational criminal law.
A portable sensor system for the detection of human volatile compounds against transnational crime