This important volume provides an up-to-date overview of the main questions currently discussed in the field of EU criminal law. It makes a stimulating addition to literature in the field, while offering its own distinctive features. It takes a four-part approach: firstly, it addresses issues of a constitutional nature, such as the EU competence in the field of criminal law, the importance of the principle of subsidiarity and the role played by the different EU institutions. Secondly, it looks at issues linked to the quest of the right balance between diversity and unity, and focuses in particular on the special relationship between approximation and mutual recognition. Thirdly, it focuses on the balance between security and freedom, or, in other words, between the shield and sword functions of EU criminal law. Special attention is given here to transatlantic cooperation, data protection, terrorism, the European Arrest Warrant and the European Investigation Order. Finally, it examines the importance of balanced relations between criminal justice actors.

This important volume provides an up-to-date overview of the main questions currently discussed in the field of EU criminal law. It makes a stimulating addition to literature in the field, while offering its own distinctive features. It takes a four-part approach: firstly, it addresses issues of a constitutional nature, such as the EU competence in the field of criminal law, the importance of the principle of subsidiarity and the role played by the different EU institutions. Secondly, it looks at issues linked to the quest of the right balance between diversity and unity, and focuses in particular on the special relationship between approximation and mutual recognition. Thirdly, it focuses on the balance between security and freedom, or, in other words, between the shield and sword functions of EU criminal law. Special attention is given here to transatlantic cooperation, data protection, terrorism, the European Arrest Warrant and the European Investigation Order. Finally, it examines the importance of balanced relations between criminal justice actors.

This book takes stock of the development of criminal law in the context of the EC and the EU, and examines whether this has led to a European criminal policy, and interrogates the legal effects that European-level initiatives in the field have on national criminal law and on suspects.

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.

Criminal law is one of the most rapidly changing areas of contemporary EU law and integration. The Treaty of Lisbon has elevated it to a central place in the constitution of the EU, within the dynamic area of freedom, security and justice. The phenomenon of EU criminal law as such is however far from new but has developed on an ad hoc basis, not least as a result of the case law of the European Court of Justice. Central to the Court's reasoning in this area has been the principle of effectiveness. A main theme running through the book is therefore the role of the axiom of effectiveness, which is critically examined, with particular attention to its use by the European Ccurt of Justice in recent leading cases. This book explores the constitutional principles underlying it, both those determining the substantive values it embodies, and those determining its scope and extent. Other chapters consider the phenomenon of preventative criminalisation at EU level and the protection of subsidiarity and proportionality in EU criminal law. The balance between effective EU action, proper control of competence and adequate protection of individual rights is of growing importance as EU criminal law expands, but, as this book suggests, has not yet been fully articulated or entrenched by the institutions of the EU.

This book develops a conceptual framework of the principle of mutual trust in EU criminal law. Mutual trust is a household term in the EU criminal law vocabulary and is widely regarded to be a prerequisite for a successful application of mutual recognition. But despite its importance, the parameters of the concept are not clear. The book demonstrates that mutual trust is multi-faceted: combining the elements essential to a successful EU criminal law, as part of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The book approaches trust from multiple angles. First, a study of social science literature. Second, a meticulous assessment of mutual trust in EU criminal law. Third, a study of trust in US interstate criminal justice cooperation. Finally, the book identifies a comprehensive approach to tackle trust related difficulties in EU criminal law. This timely book will be of great interest to anyone looking to gain a full picture of this core principle in EU criminal law.

This is the second edition of EU Criminal Law, which has become since its publication in 2009 a key point of reference in the field. The second edition is updated and substantially expanded, to take into account the significant growth of EU criminal law as a distinct legal field and the impact of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on European integration in criminal matters. The book offers a holistic and in-depth analysis of the key elements of European integration in criminal matters, including EU powers and competence to criminalise, the evolution of judicial co-operation under the principles of mutual recognition and mutual trust, EU action in the field of criminal procedure including legislation on the rights of the defendant and the victim, the evolving role of European bodies and agencies (such as Europol, Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor's Office) in European criminal law, and the development of EU-wide surveillance and data gathering and exchange mechanisms. Several chapters are devoted to the external dimension of EU action in criminal matters (including transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation and the impact of Brexit on EU Criminal Law) Throughout the volume, the constitutional and fundamental rights implications of European integration in criminal matters are highlighted. Covering all the key principles of EU law, with clear explanation and rigorous analysis, this will give scholars, students, policy makers and legal practitioners interested in the subject a strong understanding of this fascinating but sometimes complex field.