This book examines the European arrest warrant as a successful and effective instrument for judicial co-operation in criminal matters in the European Union. Providing comprehensive content and combining theoretical and practical aspects, it covers all of the major issues surrounding the European arrest warrant. The book analyses its genesis, main features, surrender procedure, case law, implementation and the latest developments. Instead of focusing solely on a criminal law approach, it also considers the subject from the perspective of European Union law and constitutional law.
On 13 June 2002 the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant and Surrender Procedures between Member States of the European Union (EAW) was adopted by the Council of the European Union. The Framework Decision must be implemented by all current and future members of the European Union in their respective legal systems. This handbook offers an introduction to the EAW, its origin and its implications. It sets out the history of extradition as a legal system and compares the EAW with the old system. It includes the full text of the EAW with commentaries per paragraph. Attention is paid to procedural rules as well as to special issues, such as the principles of reciprocity and mutual trust, ne bis in idem, verdicts in absentia and the double criminality rule. The relation of EAW with other relevant legal instruments, including those concerning human rights and procedural safeguards, is also covered.
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.
"This report presents the results of the research project 'EU-Wide Letter of Rights in Criminal Proceedings: Towards Best Practice'. In this study information has been gathered on the way suspects in the EU Member States are informed in writing of their rights in criminal proceedings. Subsequently a normative framework has been developed based on the jurisprudence of the ECtHR to establish standards and a legal basis for information that should be given to the suspect in the initial phase of police investigations. Finally a model has been developed for an EU-wide Letter of Rights to be applicable throughout the EU that can function as an inspiration for initiatives on the national level as well as on the EU level. The book provides the complete research results in its annexes and an insight into the way suspects are informed of their rights throughout the EU."--Publisher.
It is estimated that at any one time 4,500 EU nationals are held in custody in countries other than their normal place of residence. As they are less likely to be granted bail (because of a greater perceived of absconsions) the Commission has proposed a European supervision order (ESO), which would mean that authorities in a person's home State would also be responsible for returning them for trial. This report examines the proposal in detail and makes some recommendations for improvement. The Committee welcome the proposal and think it deserves prompt attention by Member States.
Although there is a vast body of literature covering the ongoing debates concerning the novelty and gravity of the contemporary terrorist threat, as well as the most appropriate response to it, few authors have thus far analysed the complex set of counterterrorism measures that both the individual Member States and the European Union (EU) have attempted to develop. This volume offers a critical analysis of the measures the European Union has taken to combat terrorism and how, in a number of key areas, EU counterterrorism policy is more of a paper tiger than an effective counterterrorism device. Several legal EU counterterrorism instruments have not been properly implemented at the national level and questions have been raised regarding their effectiveness, appropriateness, and proportionality. The capabilities of EU agencies in the area of counterterrorism remain rather weak and the EU Counterterrorism Coordinator does not have any real powers apart from persuasion. However, this does not mean that EU level action cannot offer any value-added in the fight against terrorism. There are several areas where the EU can provide genuine value-added in the fight against terrorism due to the transnational nature of the contemporary terrorist threat and the nature of a borderless Europe.
People have always travelled within Europe for work and leisure, although never before with the current intensity. Now, however, they are travelling for many other reasons, including the quest for key services such as health care. Whatever the reason for travelling, one question they ask is "If I fall ill, will the health care I receive be of a high standard?" This book examines, for the first time, the systems that have been put in place in all of the European Union's 27 Member States. The picture it paints is mixed. Some have well developed systems, setting standards based on the best available evidence, monitoring the care provided, and taking action where it falls short. Others need to overcome significant obstacles.
This volume analyses criminal procedural issues from a European perspective, particularly in connection with EU law and ECHR law. As such, it differs from previous works, which, on the one hand, generally focus only on EU law, and, on the other, address both procedural and substantial aspects, as a result of which the former receive inadequate attention. Indeed, criminal procedural matters in the European context have now reached a level of complexity, but also of maturity, that shows the features of a great design, which, even if not yet defined in all its aspects, appears sufficiently articulated to deserve to be explained in a systematic way. The book offers a guidance for practitioners, academics and students alike. It covers a broad range of topics: from the complex system of the sources of law to the multilevel protection of fundamental rights; from vertical and horizontal judicial and police cooperation to the instruments of mutual recognition, primarily the European Arrest Warrant; but also the European Investigation Order, the execution of confiscation orders, the ne bis in idem principle, the conflicts of jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgements. The book also reflects the latest regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
EU Criminal Law is perhaps the fastest-growing area of EU law. It is also one of the most contested fields of EU action, covering measures which have a significant impact on the protection of fundamental rights and the relationship between the individual and the State, while at the same time presenting a challenge to State sovereignty in the field and potentially reconfiguring significantly the relationship between Member States and the EU. The book will examine in detail the main aspects of EU criminal law, in the light of these constitutional challenges. These include: the history and institutions of EU criminal law (including the evolution of the third pillar and its relationship with EC law); harmonisation in criminal law and procedure (with emphasis on competence questions); mutual recognition in criminal matters (including the operation of the European Arrest Warrant) and accompanying measures; action by EU bodies facilitating police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters (such as Europol, Eurojust and OLAF); the collection and exchange of personal data, in particular via EU databases and co-operation between law enforcement authorities; and the external dimension of EU action in criminal matters, including EU-US counter-terrorism co-operation. The analysis is forward-looking, taking into account the potential impact of the Lisbon Treaty on EU criminal law.
