Book Review: Legality in Europe: On the Principle Nullum Crimen, Nulla Poena Sine Lege in EU law and Under the ECHR
| Author | Alessandro Rosanò |
| DOI | 10.1177/2032284419881574 |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
crime and migration seen from a security perspective. As such, it concurs with the institutional
decoupage and discursive, legal and political focus of the EU on security, thus stifling somewhat
the more critical approaches within the collected chapters.
Overall, The Routledge Handbookof Justice and Home Affairs shouldbe welcomed for its evident
merits: its comprehensive scope, the breadth and depth of its analyses, and its complementary
theoretical anddisciplinary perspectives bringa significant contribution to debateson the expanding
research area of JHA in European Studies. It is a testament to how far the EU has travelled on the
road to cooperation and integration in some of the most sensitive sovereign prerogatives of its
Member States. It also brings out how far the EU and Member States yet have to go to fully engage
with the challenges facing the region in such areas. It is a must read for practitioners, journalists,
academics and students interested in deepening their knowledge of EU JHA.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article: As part of the GEM-STONES programme, this research received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie
Grant Agreement N722826.
Legality in Europe: On the Principle Nullum Crimen, Nulla Poena Sine Lege in EU law and Under the ECHR,
M. Timmerman (Cambridge: Intersentia, 2018), ISBN 9781780683041, 350 pp., €85
Reviewed by: Alessandro Rosano
`, University of Turin, Italy
DOI: 10.1177/2032284419881574
In recent years, the supranational aspects regarding the principle of legality of crimes and penalties
have been addressed in several books (e.g. in Peristeridou, The Principle of Legality in European
Criminal Law, Intersentia, 2015). The reasons behind this interest can evidently be connected to
the centrality that the ancient maxim nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege has been given in
national legal systems, both as a legal and cultural principle that has set a limit to the State potestas
puniendi. Therefore, one can understand why many scholars aim to understand whether this
principle has been applied in the framework of some international organisations such as the
Council of Europe and the European Union, and, in addition, whether this has happened in a
manner consistent with that of national legal systems. Furthermore, one should not forget the
contribution of the so-called Taricco saga, which has recently brought to light – inter alia – the
way in which a conflict regarding the scope of the application of the above-mentioned principle
may arise between a national Constitutional Court (namely, the Italian Court) and the Court of
Justice of the European Union.
Thus, the publication of Mikhel Timmerman’s monograph, which provides valuable guidance
through the labyrinth of case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice
of the European Union with regard to the nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege principle, must
certainly be welcomed. St arting from his doctoral thesis (wr itten at the European University
Book Reviews 423
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