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The article examines the evolution of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) over the past 25 years from its establishment in 1999 to its current role as a pivotal player in the fight against fraud affecting the EU’s financial interests. It starts by tracing OLAF's origins …

The protection of fundamental rights and procedural guarantees in administrative investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has constantly evolved since its creation in 1999.

First, the catalogue of procedural rights and guarantees embedded in the successive regulations governing the conduct of OLAF’s …

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly being used by justice professionals to improve the speed and the efficiency of legal proceedings and to alleviate administrative burdens. Digital and AI tools may be a game changer in enhancing the quality of justice and allowing justice professionals …

Current technology enables drug traffickers and other criminals to live like digital nomads and direct global operations from any location in the world. That said, this surge of technology also provides law enforcement with new tools. Large datasets allow us to change the way we …

Over the coming years, new tools based on large language models (LLMs) and other artificial intelligence-based software are set to play an increasing role in many modern administrations, including in the anti-fraud domain. One might even argue that the prevention, detection, and investigation of fraud …

Dear Readers, Digitalisation is not just the future but already an undeniable reality in today’s society! Our task now is to strive for its best and most efficient use. For actors involved in international cooperation, in particular, digitalisation involves a number of sweeping technical and legal changes as well as changes to our mind-set. In the words of American writer Stewart Brand, “Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” Several commendable digitalisation reforms have been set in motion, including in the field of criminal law. The widely welcomed…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the convening of “virtual” and “hybrid” meetings through videoconferencing technology has become a common practice. This trend has also reached the sphere of criminal justice, as more and more jurisdictions, such as Hungary, are authorising hearings and trials …

Dear Readers, Breaches of environmental laws often cause substantial damage to people’s health and the environment. Unlawful pollution, waste dumping and trafficking, violations of wildlife protection, and illegal mining without development permission can have devastating effects. Moreover, environmental offences distort the level playing field for honest businesses and cause both direct and indirect losses to public finances (e.g., higher health expenditure). For the perpetrators, such offences are lucrative and for enforcement authorities not always visible while technically complex, which makes them difficult to investigate. For this reason, environmental transgressions – including environmental crimes – are on the rise. Given their…

On 11 April 2024, the EU adopted a new environmental crime directive to replace Directive 2008/99 of 19 November 2008. This article discusses why a new Directive in the area of environmental crime had become necessary. It particularly argues that the introduction of an autonomous …

Environmental crime includes wildlife crimes, illegal waste dumping, substance smuggling, and illegal mining. These types of crime lead to habitat loss and species extinction, contribute to global warming, destabilise communities and economies, undermine security and development, and foster corruption. Often transnational in nature, environmental crime …