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In case T-48/05, the European Court of First Instance (CFI) ruled on an application for compensation for material and non-material damage sustained as a consequence of errors alleged to have been committed by the European Commission and OLAF in investigating the “Eurostat” case. The CFI ordered the European Commission to pay Mr. Yves Franchet and Mr. Daniel Byk the sum of 56 000 Euros and ordered the Commission to pay the costs.1 The Commission decided not to appeal. Three aspects of the ruling that are highlighted in this article relate to the presumption of innocence (I below), the right of…

The author argues that the European Evidence Warrant (EEW) has the potential to speed up national investigations in the areas of the protection of the financial interests of the European Union. This is because the legislator has taken care to include a wide range of related offences, exempting them from the requirement of double criminality. Evidence will have to be produced within 60 days of receipt of the EEW. However, it must be remembered that the EEW only concerns a narrow range of evidence and that further mutual recognition provisions will have to be adopted if a wider range of…

The article examines the UK Bribery Act 2010 as a major reform of corporate criminal law, replacing fragmented anti-corruption legislation with a comprehensive and far-reaching framework.

The creation of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office seems now to be in sight, at least from an EU-constitutional point of view. However, there appear to be two major stumbling blocks, which can be summarised as austerity and complexity. Within the climate of financial austerity in the EU, the Zeitgeist provokes considerations of reduction and economy rather than expansion and creation of new EU institutions on a vertical scale. Finding a politically palatable solution will require not only political will (and/or a sudden event precipitating the need for an EPPO) but will also call for creativity in execution. All the…

Some EU Member States have already adopted broad-ranging whistleblowing legislation because of financial or public health scandals. In this context, the European Parliament suggested a draft directive to protect whistleblowers by offering a “horizontal” approach covering all public and private sectors. In 2018, the European …