Book Review: Criminal Law after Lisbon. Rights, Trust and the Transformation of Justice in Europe

DOI10.1177/2032284417737866
Date01 December 2017
Published date01 December 2017
Subject MatterBook Reviews
Chalkiadaki and Dr Emmanouil Billis, as well as of a concise – yet holistic – overview of the Greek
criminal justice system focusing on its basic characteristics and general principles. Furthermore,
the volume must be seen as an additional, complementary tool alongside the International Max
Planck Information System for Compara tive Criminal Law (www.infocrim.o rg), which offers
systematic presentation of the criminal law of numerous legal systems and facilitates direct
comparison between distinct legal orders. Fourteen volumes have been published so far. These
focus on the general part of the substantive criminal law of 27 countries, including Greece.
The present volume starts with a systematic 60-page introduction to the basic characteristics and
fundamental principles of the Greek Criminal law and the Penal Code. As such, it sets the scene for
the subsequent translation of the Code. Particularly, since the terminology used is aligned to that as
coined in the translation. The general characteristics of Greek Criminal law are clearly elaborated,
including references to the basic elements of Constitutional and International law, as well as the
bodies and authorities involved in criminal procedure. Furthermore, the introduction provides a
brief outline of the historical and theoretical foundations of the Greek Penal Code, explains its
current structure and analyses its basic principles and provisions. A key strength of this part is the
inclusion of extensive literature on the topics touched upon. This is of grea t added value for
scholars who wish to deepen their knowledge on the Greek criminal justice system.
The second part of the volume is devoted to the laborious and time-consuming task of translat-
ing the Greek Penal Code, as was in force by the end of February 2017, into English. The final
output is superb; not only is the text as close to the original as possible but also the terminology is
carefully chosen and used with consistency and coherence. In few cases only, the translators were
obliged to interfere in the text to correct linguistic inaccuracies or systematic abnormalities
(mainly due to consecutive reforms) of the Greek legislator. Additionally, where necessary, the
translators provided explanatory remarks to avoid confusion on behalf of readers coming from
Anglo-American jurisdictions (see, e.g. Article 22 on ‘defence’).
Overall, the significance of this book cannot be overstressed. The volume is a valuable addition
to legal scholarship as it constitutes a first-class tool for comparatists who wish to get acquainted
with the Greek criminal justice system for the purposes of their research. Importantly, in an era of
globalization and the continuous intervention of the EU legislator in criminal matters, the suc-
cessful realization of projects and the publication of books such as the present one are particularly
useful for criminal law scholars. More generally so in order to grant access to foreign legislation in
a systematic, professional and high-quality manner.
Criminal Law after Lisbon.Rights, Trust and the Transformation of Justice in Europe, Valsamis Mitsilegas (London,
UK: Hart Publishing, 2016), ISBN 9781849466486, 336 pp., £50
Reviewed by: Adriano Martufi,Universite
´Saint-Louis-Bruxelles, Belgium
DOI: 10.1177/2032284417737866
Did the adoption Treaty of Lisbon play a role in enhancing the protection of fundamental rights in
the European Union (EU) area of freedom, security and justice? This is one of the key questions
underlying the last monograph by Valsamis Mitsilegas, which is the first volume in the new series
Book reviews 567

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