scholarly journals Transfer of criminal proceedings: from stumbling block to cornerstone of cooperation in criminal matters in the EU

ERA Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-464
Author(s):  
Boudewijn de Jonge
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Administration Of Justice ◽  
Common Area ◽  
European Union Legislation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
The Eu

AbstractMost forms of international cooperation in criminal matters have now been regulated to some extent by European Union legislation. One classical form of cooperation has been so far largely immune from influence by the EU legislator, however. This is the area of transfer of proceedings. This article provides an overview of the current situation and argues that new life should be blown into earlier initiatives to improve this form of cooperation. Harmonisation in this area will prove an important step to facilitate the proper administration of justice in the common Area of Freedom, Justice and Security that the European Union is set to realise.

scholarly journals The position of youth justice in EU criminal law: No game for kids

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-160
Author(s):  
Jantien Leenknecht ◽  
Johan Put
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Juvenile Offenders ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Judicial Cooperation ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
The Eu

In criminal matters, the European Union (EU) managed to establish several mechanisms to strengthen and facilitate judicial cooperation over the years but does not clearly nor uniformly define the concepts of ‘criminal matters’, ‘criminal proceedings’, ‘criminal responsibility’ and so on in any of the cooperation instruments themselves. It is however important to know as to what the EU understands by the notion ‘criminal’ because Member States have developed specific rules in response to delinquent behaviour of minors, which are somewhat different from ‘general’ criminal law. The question arises whether the existing cooperation mechanisms only apply to ‘adult’ criminal matters or also include youth justice matters. This article therefore aims to find out whether a consistent and shared view exists on the meaning of the concept ‘criminal’ and to subsequently clarify to what extent the existing EU instruments in criminal matters also apply to juvenile offenders.

scholarly journals Movement of Evidence in the European Union: Challenges for the European Investigation Order

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-84
Author(s):  
Raimundas Jurka ◽  
Jolanta Zajančkauskienė
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Assistance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Member States ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
Law Of Evidence

Abstract The issue of international cooperation in criminal matters has interested legal theorists and practitioners for decades. In this area of law there are certain challenges that can only be tackled by using the joint efforts of the States, which is different from the national law of the States. For this reason, certain principles of law are specific for international cooperation, and on the basis of these principles States provide legal assistance requests to each other or else create preconditions to ensure the efficient and unimpeded criminal proceedings. It is true that the principles of mutual legal assistance and recognition, and the influence of their alternation are not identical to all segments of international cooperation, including the development of the evidence law in the European Union. With regard to the evidence and their admissibility in Member States of the European Union, it should be noted that this issue is still relevant, because the biggest concern of some Member States is the admissibility of evidence, when evidence is collected in one State and the admissibility of them is assessed in the other State. It would seem like a more formalized “concern”, but basically it is a quite significant impulse for searching of new legal instruments in the European Union, which would be able not only ensure the acceptability (admissibility) of evidence that was collected in the foreign State in accordance with the relevant procedural form, and in the court of the State which obtained this evidence, but also the sovereignty of the State, the authenticity of the national law, and the respect for the legal culture and traditions of this State. The authors discuss the development of the law of evidence, the separate legal segments of this law, and their strengths and weaknesses in the article. Despite the fact that the effective mechanisms of evidence movement among Member States appear in modern European Union criminal justice, the latest legal instruments lack the clarity and certainty of certain procedural legal guarantees in the context of human rights protection.

scholarly journals THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AS A NORMATIVE BACKDROP TO POTENTIAL EUROPEAN INTEGRATION IN THE SPHERE OF CRIMINAL LAW

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-148
Author(s):  
Gerard Conway
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
State Level ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
The Common ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
National Systems ◽  
The Eu

At a European inter-state level, both the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU) have developed cooperation in criminal matters between European jurisdictions. Although the EU represents a deeper form of integration and cooperation in legal terms than does the Council of Europe, the EU also has to date preferred a looser ‘intergovernmental’ means of cooperation in police and criminal matters, as compared to the degree of integration of the common market. This reluctance to integrate, to a greater degree, national systems of criminal law is reflected in the relatively limited nature of the pre-existing Council of Europe framework of instruments in the field. This article seeks to illustrate this point through an assessment of three of the most relevant Council of Europe instruments – the European Convention of Human Rights, the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and the Convention on Extradition – in the light of recent EU developments.

Human rights and the rule of law in judicial cooperation in criminal matters under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

2021 ◽  
pp. 203228442199593
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Schomburg ◽  
Anna Oehmichen ◽  
Katrin Kayß
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cooperation Agreement ◽  
Judicial Cooperation ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
The Eu

As human rights have increasingly gained importance at the European Union level, this article examines the remaining scope of human rights protection under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. While some international human rights instruments remain applicable, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union did not become part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The consequences, especially the inapplicability of the internationalised ne bis in idem principle, are analysed. Furthermore, the conditionality of the TCA in general as well as the specific conditionality for judicial cooperation in criminal matters are discussed. In this context, the risk that cooperation may cease at any moment if any Member State or the UK leave the European Convention of Human Rights is highlighted. Lastly, the authors raise the problem of the lack of judicial review, as the Court of Justice of the European Union is no longer competent.

scholarly journals TOWARDS MINIMUM PROCEDURAL GUARANTEES FOR THE DEFENCE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN THE EU

2011 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1017-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurens van Puyenbroeck ◽  
Gert Vermeulen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Policy ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Judicial Cooperation ◽  
Democratic Rule ◽  
Constitutional System ◽  
The Eu

A critical observer would not deny that the practice of European Union (‘EU’) policy making in the field of criminal law in the past decade since the implementation of the Tampere Programme has been mainly repressive and prosecution-oriented.1 The idea of introducing a set of common (minimum) rules, guaranteeing the rights of defence at a EU-wide level, has not been accorded the same attention as the introduction of instruments aimed at improving the effectiveness of crime-fighting. What does this mean for the future of EU criminal policy? Will the EU succeed in the coming years in developing an area where freedom, security and justice are truly balanced? According to several authors, to date the EU has evolved in the opposite direction. As one observer put it:[I]f Procedural Criminal Law arises from the application of Constitutional Law, or indeed if it may be described as “a seismograph of the constitutional system of a State”, then as a consequence the Procedural Criminal Law of the European Union shows the extent of the Democratic Rule of Law, of the existence of a true “Rechtsstaat”, within an integrated Europe. This situation may be qualified as lamentable, as the main plank of the EU's criminal justice policy relates to the simplification and the speeding up of police and judicial cooperation—articles 30 and 31 of the Treaty of the EU—but without at the same time setting an acceptable standard for fundamental rights throughout a united Europe.2

scholarly journals THE DYNAMICS OF HORTICULTURAL FARM NUMBERS IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SIZE CLASSES AND CHANGES IN THEIR INCOME IN 2007-2017

2020 ◽  
Vol XXII (3) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Maryla Bieniek-Majka ◽  
Marta Guth
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Average Change ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network ◽  
The Common ◽  
Large Farms ◽  
Economic Size ◽  
The Eu

The aim of this study is to determine changes in the structure of horticultural farms in EU countries in the years 2007-2017 and their incomes and determine the share of subsidies of the Common Agricultural Policy in the income of horticultural farms in studied groups. Horticultural farms from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network (EUFADN) of all EU countries were surveyed. A dynamic analysis of the structure of farm numbers in particular groups of economic size (ES6) was carried out, and then the average change in income and the share of subsidies in income within these groups in 2007 and 2017 were presented. As a result of the conducted research, changes in the number of horticultural farms in various groups of economic size were taken into account and the assumptions concerning the decreasing scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms were confirmed by a decrease in the number of the economically weakest groups and an increase in the number of medium and large farms. It was noted that, in the studied groups, the strongest income growths concerned farms with medium or high economic strength, which may mean that income had a significant impact on the process. Moreover, it results from the conducted research that existing institutional solutions additionally supported the tendency to reduce the scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms in the EU-12 due to the fact that the shares of subsidies were higher in groups with higher economic strength.

scholarly journals TOPICAL ASPECTS OF DCFTA IMPLEMENTATION IN THE JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Mariia Sirotkina ◽  
Olena Lomakina ◽  
Olena Shkarnega
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
Judicial Proceedings ◽  
European Standards ◽  
Rule Making ◽  
The Eu

The Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine is a new format of relations aimed at creating a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) between Ukraine and the EU with the gradual integration of Ukraine into the internal market of the European Union. Focusing on the experience of rule-making of the EU member states, it is necessary to define and implement the legal rules and principles of the national judiciary, taking into account the rules and principles of European law (Chornomaz, 2016). In accordance with the strategy of European integration of our country, the adaptation of Ukrainian legislation is to approximate it with the modern European legal system, which will ensure the development of the political, entrepreneurial, social, cultural activity of Ukrainian citizens, economic development of the state within the EU to facilitate the increase of standards of living of the population. The implementation of the provisions of European legislation provided by the economic part of the Association Agreement (AA) is extremely important in the context of reforms, as the provisions can and should serve as a basis for a new model of socio-economic development of Ukraine. The deepening of the processes of humanization and democratization of Ukrainian society, the gradual introduction of principles and rules of European law into the national judiciary through reforms in the field of justice, inter alia, have led to qualitative updating of criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine, in particular: use of differentiated approach to legal conflicts between persons who have committed criminal offences, which do not pose a great public danger, and victims; simplification and reduction of the procedure of criminal proceedings; ensuring procedural savings; reduction of the caseload; allowing the parties of the conflict to resolve issues of exemption from criminal liability in case of reconciliation between the offender and the victim independently, the appointment of the negotiated punishment and release from serving with probation, etc. Given the specifics of the approach to improving relations with neighbouring countries on a differentiated basis, the EU seeks to identify and base on existing positive sources of sustainability, as well as to monitor and respond to weaknesses with the appropriate set of methods and resources at its disposal. The purpose of the article is to study a theoretical and practical definition of challenges of adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the legislation of the European Union, institutional and organizational mechanisms of DCFTA implementation in the field of justice and certain norms of the current criminal procedure legislation. Ukraine is undergoing the second phase of radical reform of government structures; it has been continuing for 15 years but, unlike other countries, it is much more difficult for Ukraine to get rid of the burden of past problems. Judicial reform is also underway and domestic legislation is being significantly changed, including the transformation of the judicial proceedings. The topical issue of the development of judicial reforms is an imperfection, and sometimes a contradiction of regulations, which negatively affects the process of realization of rights and responsibilities of all subjects of public relations, slows down the development of Ukraine as a state governed by the rule of law. However, the introduction of institutions of concluding agreements, simplified proceedings, probation, and later mediation, into the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine indicates the readiness of our state to change the concept of criminal procedure in accordance with the European standards, which will improve the situation of all parties to criminal proceedings. However, they need further completion and improvement. We are convinced that the introduction of such institutions will contribute to the legal development of society to achieve the European standards of restorative justice, which will encourage the further introduction of the latter in the legislation of Ukraine, resolving criminal conflicts by reaching a compromise between parties in cases specified by law. One of the ways to solve this problem in Ukraine is to regulate the process of adoption of regulations by the subjects of rule-making and taking into account the provision that legality as an objective property of law, in general, is the necessary condition and the main principle of the rule-making process.

Policy-Making in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Common ◽  
Key Events ◽  
The Eu

Policy-Making in the European Union explores the link between the modes and mechanisms of EU policy-making and its implementation at the national level. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the financial crisis and resulting Eurozone crisis, focusing on what determines how policies are made and implemented. This includes major developments such as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the common agricultural policy, and new initiatives to promote EU energy security. In the final part, the chapters consider trends in EU policy-making and the challenges facing the EU.

Legislating and Adjudicating

2020 ◽  
pp. 173-192
Author(s):  
Eleanor Sharpston
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
European Union Legislation ◽  
Final Text ◽  
The Eu

The chapter examines the role played by the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) in ruling authoritatively on the meaning of European Union legislation. The EU legislative process differs from the parliamentary process in the United Kingdom for good reason. Within the European Union, there are many different traditions of how such drafting should be done; whilst, at EU level, multinationalism and multilingualism have a significant impact on what emerges as the final text. The chapter explains the difficulties encountered and gives illustrations from the Court’s case-law of instances where the Court has either decided not to take steps that might be construed as ‘legislating’ or, conversely, has gone to the limits of ‘constructive re-interpretation’. The chapter concludes by asking how far the Court should ‘bend’ a legislative text.

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