With the developing landscape of a European criminal justice sphere comes an increasing imperative for scholars and practitioners to gain some insight into the diversity that exists in the criminal justice systems of European Union Member States. This book explores the mutual admissibility of evidence; a facet of EU criminal justice that is proving difficult to realise. While the Lisbon Treaty places the issue of mutual admissibility of evidence squarely on the agenda, the EU instruments to date have not succeeded in achieving this goal. Andrea Ryan argues that part of the reason for this failure is that while the mutual recognition instruments have focussed on the issue of gathering evidence and safeguarding suspects’ rights, they have not addressed how evidence is to be presented and contested at trial. Drawing upon case studies from Ireland, France and Italy, and adopting a legal cultural perspective, and enriched by the author’s observations of criminal trials, the book presents a detailed analysis of the developments to date in EU criminal justice and evidence law. By examining evidence practices the book asks whether the inquisitorial and accusatorial traditions within the EU systems are too irreconcilable to achieve a system of mutual admissibility of evidence. The book will be of great interest and use to academics and practitioners with an interest in European and comparative criminal justice, criminal procedure, human rights and socio-legal studies.

European criminal law is explained as a multi-level field of law, in which the European Union has a normative influence on substantive criminal law, criminal procedure and on the co-operation between Member States. This book aims to describe the contours of the emerging criminal justice system of the European Union and to present a coherent picture of the legislation enacted and the case law on European Union Level and its influence on national criminal law and criminal procedure. Among the topics and questions covered in this book are the following: What does mutual recognition mean in the context of the European Arrest Warrant? How can European Union law be invoked by an accused? When is the Charter of Fundamental Freedoms applicable in national criminal proceedings? These and other pertinent questions are dealt with on the basis of an-in-depth analysis of the case law of the Court of Justice and legislation. In addition, the book challenges the reader to assess the mutual (and sometimes conflicting) influence of European Union law and national criminal law respectively and explains how European Union law will usually prevail although national criminal law still remains relevant. The book covers a wealth of court decisions and legal instruments making European Criminal Law, written for practitioners, academics and students, an invaluable source for every European and criminal lawyer This second updated and extended edition covers all recent developments since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Book jacket.

The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law reflects the continued transformation of criminal law into a global discipline, providing scholars with a comprehensive international resource, a common point of entry into cutting edge contemporary research and a snapshot of the state and scope of the field. To this end, the Handbook takes a broad approach to its subject matter, disciplinarily, geographically, and systematically. Its contributors include current and future research leaders representing a variety of legal systems, methodologies, areas of expertise, and research agendas. The Handbook is divided into four parts: Approaches & Methods (I), Systems & Methods (II), Aspects & Issues (III), and Contexts & Comparisons (IV). Part I includes essays exploring various methodological approaches to criminal law (such as criminology, feminist studies, and history). Part II provides an overview of systems or models of criminal law, laying the foundation for further inquiry into specific conceptions of criminal law as well as for comparative analysis (such as Islamic, Marxist, and military law). Part III covers the three aspects of the penal process: the definition of norms and principles of liability (substantive criminal law), along with a less detailed treatment of the imposition of norms (criminal procedure) and the infliction of sanctions (prison law). Contributors consider the basic topics traditionally addressed in scholarship on the general and special parts of the substantive criminal law (such as jurisdiction, mens rea, justifications, and excuses). Part IV places criminal law in context, both domestically and transnationally, by exploring the contrasts between criminal law and other species of law and state power and by investigating criminal law's place in the projects of comparative law, transnational, and international law.

The success of the four core freedoms of the EU has created fertile ground for transnational organised crime. Innovative, transnational legal weapons are therefore required by national authorities. The availability of data on criminal convictions is at the forefront of the debate. But which mechanism for availability can be used effectively while at the same time respecting an increasingly higher level of data protection at national level? In the fluid, post-'Reform Treaty' environment, the EU is moving towards the creation of a European Criminal Record which will ultimately secure availability of criminal data beyond the weaknesses of Mutual Legal Assistance mechanisms. Examining the concept of a European Criminal Record in its legal, political and data protection dimensions, this multidisciplinary study is an indispensable exploration of a major initiative in European Criminal Law which is set to monopolise the debate on EU judicial co-operation and enforcement.

. . . this book fills a significant gap in the English-language literature and must be read by all who seek to understand why profound reflection is needed on the theoretical underpinnings of EU criminal justice. Samuli Miettinen, Journal of Common Market Studies The book contains a number of interesting arguments and comments on the development of EU criminal law. . . the authors efforts to provide a generalist book in this ever-growing, increasingly important and still under-researched field of EU law must be welcomed. Valsamis Mitsilegas, The Edinburgh Law Review Today, EU criminal law and justice constitutes a significant body of law potentially affecting most aspects of criminal justice. This book provides a comprehensive, accessible yet analytically challenging account of the institutional and legal developments in this field to date. It also includes full consideration of the prospective changes to EU criminal law contained in the recent Lisbon Treaty . While, broadly speaking, the authors welcome the objectives of EU criminal law, they call for a profound rethinking of how the good of criminal justice however defined is to be delivered to those living in the EU. At present, despite sometimes commendable initiatives from the institutions responsible, the actual framing and implementation of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) suffers from a failure to properly consider the theoretical implications of providing the good of criminal justice at the EU level. Written shortly before the recent entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, EU Criminal Law and Justice comprises a full overview of the key legal developments and debates and includes a user-friendly guide to the institutional changes contained in the Treaty. This timely book will be of interest to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as to legal practitioners and policy makers at national and EU levels.

In this book legal and criminological scholars offer advanced analyses of the exercise of the substantive criminal law competences of the EU.

The EU now possesses a clear legal basis for taking action on criminal law matters and steering the policy and practice of Member States in relation to crime and criminal law. However, for what is now an important area of law, there remains a striking absence or uncertainty regarding its theoretical basis, its legitimacy and its conceptual vocabulary. This book offers a review of the significance of EU criminal law and crime policy as a rapidly emerging phenomenon in European law and governance. Bringing together an international set of contributors, the book questions the nature, role and objectives of such 'criminal law', its relationship with other areas of EU policy and law, and the established rules of criminal law and criminal justice at the Member State level. Taking up such subjects as the application of criminal law across national boundaries and in the broader European context, effective enforcement, and the working out of a new European policy, the book helps to structure an increasingly significant subject in law which is still finding its direction. The book will be of great use and interest to researchers and students of EU law, criminal justice, and criminology.

The book examines how and according to which principles the enactment of European criminal legislation is legitimate. The approach adopted here focuses on the constitutionalization of criminal law (i.e., the growing importance of constitutional elements of the EU legal order and the ECHR regime within criminal law). Further, it shows how and why criminal law has a unique nature, and why it should not be equated with other fields of EU law.The book explains the basic research questions and methodologies, before turning to the nature of criminal law at the level of national law, and addressing the different levels of justification for criminal law. Further, it examines the most prominent features of European criminal law and the difference between general EU law and EU criminal law, as well as the theoretical ideals for European constitutional structures and criminal law. Examples of how the law in practice might not always be in keeping with these normative ideals serve to round out the coverage.

The title of this work illustrates the two difficulties which the chosen theme poses, difficulties which arise from the confrontation between collective and individual interests. On the one hand, the criminal process is based on the protection of society; on the other hand, human rights implies respect for all individuals implicated in that process, be they victim, witness or accused. A third difficulty arises in relation to the new influence of European law. While the right to judge has long appeared to be the most obvious indication of national sovereignty, it is now subject to supranational control and a State can be censured by the European Court of Human Rights. Part One of this volume analyses the period of reform in various Eastern and Western European countries; Part Two explores the debate among jurists, historians, sociologists and philosophers on the subject of the criminal trial in a democratic society. Finally, Part Three reflects on the issue within the context of the European Community and the European Council and explores the question of a future model for the European criminal trial. Professor Mireille Delmas-Marty teaches at l'Université de Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne and is a member of l'Institut Universitaire de France. She is the editor of The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, International Protection versus National Restrictions (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1992.)