Book Review: The Future of EU Criminal Justice Policy and Practice: Legal and Criminological Perspectives
| Author | Ermioni Xanthopoulou |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20322844211064385 |
| Published date | 01 September 2022 |
| Date | 01 September 2022 |
claimaboutaspecificareaofEUpolicymakingwhichmightbefruitfullycomparedandcontrasted
withlegitimacyissuesthatarise–andareatthecentreofvibrantliterature–inotherfields.
InthecontextoftheEuropeanUnion,whichacquiredcompetencetointerveneincriminal
matters(bysettingstandardsfortheharmonisationofMemberStates’nationallaw)onlysincethe
TreatyofMaastricht,thequestionsacquirespecialimportanceforEUlawyersastheyarein-
extricablylinkedtoaquestionofcompetence(andwhatintheEUisnotinextricablylinkedtothe
perennialquestionoftheprecisedelimitationofcompetences,afterall?).Absenttheconditions(the
necessity,therationale)forEUinterventionincriminallawinacertainfieldorcircumstance,one
couldargue,EUcompetenceshouldnotexist.Wieczorek’sanalysisinthisrespectisuseful,asit
providestheoretical–andoriginal–argumentsfortheconditionsoftheexerciseofsuchcom-
petence.Eventhoughthebookisnotonly,ornotevenprimarilyaboutthis,thecompetence-related
viewpointmakethebookausefulreadfromamethodologicalperspective,forthoseinterestedinthe
actualexerciseofthepoliticallychargedcompetencesacquiredbytheEUinthe90s.Onecould
conceivesimilarbooksforthoseotherareas,thatisaccountssystematisingthenormativelegit-
imacy,therationaleforEUactionintheAreaofFreedomSecurityandJusticemorebroadly,in
EconomicandMonetaryUnion,orinCommonForeignandSecuritypolicy–andthenassessthe
practiceofEUinstitutionsagainstthatbenchmark.
TheFutureofEUCriminalJusticePolicyandPractice:LegalandCriminologicalPerspectives,JannemiekeOuwerkerk,
JuditAltena,Jacob¨
ObergandSamuliMiettinen(eds.)(Leiden:Brill,2019),ISBN9789004367371,380pp.,€165
Reviewedby:ErmioniXanthopoulou,BrunelUniversityLondon,UK
DOI:10.1177/20322844211064385
Criminalisationandcriminaljusticearenolongermerelytiedtothenationstatedespitetheir
traditionallinktostatehoodandthenationalpublicorder.Cross-borderandcyber-crimecallfor
discussionsandinitiativesbeyondthenationstatelevel.ThisiswhytheEuropeanUnion’s(EU’s)
AreaofFreedomSecurityandJusticeisafast-evolvingpolicyarea.Definingcriminaloffences
pertainingtocrimeswithacross-borderelement,suchasorganisedcrime,hasnotescapedtheremit
ofEUlawwhichhasalsofacilitatedjudicialandpolicecooperationinthefieldsofcriminaljustice.
Atthesametime,legalperspectivesoncriminalisationandcriminaljusticemaynolongerbe
enoughtogivecomprehensiveanswerstocomplexquestionspertainingtolawandsociety.
Theinabilityoflawalonetotacklesuchmulti-facetedquestionshighlightsthesignificanceof
thisvolumethathasbroughttogetherseveralcontributionsexaminingthelinkbetweenpolicyand
practice,theroleofevidenceincriminalisationandtheuseofsociologicalmethodstoapproach
legalquestions.Forreasonsoflegitimacyaswellascompliancewithconstitutionalprinciples,law-
makingattheEUcriminallevelmustbeinformedbycriminologicalevidence.
Thebook,TheFutureofEUCriminalJusticePolicyandPractice:LegalandCriminological
Perspectives,iscomposedofthreepartsanddespitethedifferentthematicpatternsamongchapters,
thereadercanenjoynavigatingthroughacoherentnarrative.Thefirstpartdiscusseswhetherornot
tocriminaliseaconductinEUlawbyexploringlegalandcriminologicalquestions.Departingfrom
normativejustificationsthatusuallyunderpincriminalisation,Persakexaminestheirspecific
functioninEUcriminallawwhenEUlegislativebodiesexercisetheircompetenceunderArticle83
380NewJournalofEuropeanCriminalLaw13(3)
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