Globalized crime and criminal justice: European and international criminal law perspectives

In a globalized world, criminal law and criminal justice are no longer the exclusive prerogative and task of sovereign states. Crime and other threats to security increasingly have an international dimension and accordingly affect states collectively, be it on a regional or global level. In order to tackle international, cross-border crime and the most serious forms of wrongdoing that concern the international community as a whole, new legal orders have emerged that significantly shape and influence criminal justice. In the European context, the European Union has ever since the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty gained more and more influence with regard to criminal law. The Treaty of Lisbon increased the Union’s competences and also introduced far reaching institutional and constitutional changes, contributing to the further development of a European criminal justice system. With regard to international wrongdoing which affects significant international interests and which runs counter to commonly shared values of civilized nations, the establishment of several ad hoc tribunals as well as the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) has given rise to an international criminal law regime.

​​​​​​​Both European and International Criminal Law, are relatively new fields of law and have developed in an incoherent and fragmented manner. While the focus, institutional framework,  structure and underlying rationale of the two legal orders differ considerably, the two systems also have communalities and face common challenges due to the fact, that both have to address similar facets and elements of criminal justice. For instance, in both fields of law, through legislation and case law a comprehensive system of substantive and procedural rules has been created. While the European legislator has created a variety of so-called Euro crimes, the core crimes of International Criminal Law are enshrined in multiple sources, such as the ICC statute. A major difference is that EU law provides for an indirect enforcement mechanism via the Member States, whereas international criminal law is based on the complementarity of national and international enforcement. However, both have now established a Public Prosecution office and have developed a variety of defence rights, based on broader fundamental human rights obligations. Next to issues of substantive, respectively procedural criminal law, legal assistance and judicial cooperation are furthermore essential elements in both legal orders.

This conference aims to compare and critically assess the developments in European Criminal Law and International Criminal Law. The conference sets out to analyse differences and similarities with regard to a variety of different aspects of criminal justice in a globalized world. It seeks to zoom in on the similarities and differences of both supranational legal orders and to discuss a variety of questions spanning from the prosecution of serious international crimes, to issues of substantive and procedural criminal law and cooperation in criminal matters. The conference aims to bring together experts from academia and practitioners from both European as well as international criminal law to discuss challenges and opportunities of today.

Cost: Free of charge. In case of no-show or cancellation from 5 days before the event, we have to charge the catering costs of 50 euro
Registration: https://www.aanmelder.nl/138441/subscribe
Additional information: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/events/globalized-crime-and-criminal-justice-european-and-international-criminal-law-perspectives