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The article examines the prospects for automatic mutual recognition of judicial decisions in EU criminal matters, focusing on freezing and confiscation orders. It outlines the legal basis for mutual recognition under the Lisbon Treaty, contrasts it with harmonisation, and reviews existing instruments and their shortcomings. …

The article analyses OLAF’s position as a supranational EU body in relation to national judicial authorities, focusing on the sharing of information in fraud and corruption investigations affecting the EU’s financial interests. It outlines the advantages of OLAF’s supranational status—such as recognised competence, speed, and …

This article examines the Council of Europe’s role in addressing the threat of foreign terrorist fighters through the Draft Additional Protocol to the 2005 Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism. Developed in response to UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014), the protocol supplements the “Mother …

This article analyses the European Union’s evolving counterterrorism framework in light of recent attacks and the changing nature of the terrorist threat. It traces the EU’s “event-driven” approach since 9/11, the Madrid and London bombings, and the development of the 2005 EU Counterterrorism Strategy with …

Dear Readers, Security is among Europeans’ key concerns in 2015.1 Even though ensuring internal security lies primarily with the Member States, the new and more complex threats that have emerged require further synergies at all levels. The European Agenda on Security presented by the Commission on 28 April 2015 highlights the EU’s added value to Member States’ actions. It underlines that the EU needs a solid criminal justice response to terrorism, covering investigation and prosecution of those who plan terrorist acts or are suspected of recruitment, training, and financing of terrorism as well as incitement to commit a terrorist offence.…

Dear Readers, Over two decades have passed since the EU’s first attempt to harmonise procedural rights in criminal proceedings across the bloc. The 2009 Roadmap, adopted under the Swedish Council Presidency, led to six key directives: on interpretation and translation, information rights, access to a lawyer, presumption of innocence and the right to be present at trial, safeguards for children, and legal aid. Two recommendations followed, addressing vulnerable persons and pre-trial detention conditions. Yet, despite these advances, the EU still lacks a coherent and equal system of procedural rights. While the existing instruments might give the impression of a developing…

The European Convention on Extradition was opened for signature in 1957 and came into force in 1960. It laid the foundation for cooperation in criminal matters between Council of Europe Member States. Since then, many international treaties drafted under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the European Union, the United Nations, and other international bodies have been developed. The question everybody is now asking is: After 60 years of effort and work to strengthen relations between the states, has international cooperation in criminal matters produced meaningful results? An initial look at the long tradition of cooperation in criminal matters…

On 3 April 2014, Directive 2014/41/EU regarding the European investigation order in criminal matters was finally approved. This instrument seeks to overcome the present fragmentary regulation on the gathering and transfer of cross-border evidence and improve the efficiency of the international judicial cooperation among the …

Cross-border, asset-related crime exploits a persistent enforcement gap in Germany’s confiscation regime. Existing tools — conviction-based forfeiture under §§ 73 ff. German Criminal Code (StGB) and the narrowly framed conviction-independent procedure of § 76a StGB — fail whenever offenders abscond, die, or hide behind complex …

This article examines the administrative penalty system under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in cases of over-declarations of agricultural land. It focuses on the “yellow card” legislation that was introduced in 2016 and applicable until 2022, analysing its practical implications. This “yellow card” …