Book review: The Investigation Phase in International Criminal Procedure in Search of Common Rules
| Date | 01 March 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2032284417699292 |
| Published date | 01 March 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
of Punishment’, ‘the Principle of Legality’, ‘Actus Reus and Mens Rea: The Elements of Crime
and the Framework of Criminal Liability’, ‘Commission versus Omission’, ‘Causation’, ‘Forms
and Aspects of Mens Rea’, ‘Justification and Excuses’, ‘Inchoate Offences: Attempt and Prepara-
tion’, ‘Forms of Participation’ and ‘Corporate Criminal Liability’. This review evaluates the
volume as a whole, rather than commenting on the content of each chapter individually.
The editors opt for a comparative methodology, as a didactic tool for encouraging the reader to
critically reflect upon the subject. This seems appropriate, bearing in mind the general purpose of
the book and its target audience (at pp. 1–3). The choice of penal systems (England and Wales,
Germany and the Netherlands) is both satisfactorily explained (at pp. 4–5) and plausible. The
contributors assess the peculiarities of the legal issues stated above within these legal traditions and
draw their conclusions on the basis of comparative analysis. The book places a wider range of
potential solutions at the disposal of the reader and thus contributes to the process of ‘cross-
fertilization’ of theories and ideas.
The different chapters deliver what is promised in the introductory chapter. For instance, some
authors adopt a more reflective approach that places emphasis on recent societal changes and
challenges (e.g. ‘the risk society’) and on the influence and impact of said changes on criminal
policy and jurisprudence (e.g. at pp. 122–125, 281–304). The authors successfully present complex
concepts of substantive criminal law in a very accessible and well-structured manner within
relatively compact chapters. Some contributors competently place these concepts into a broader
criminological, philosophical, political or historical context (e.g. at pp. 11–34, 39–43, 72–75, 109,
157–159, 177–178).
Almost all chapters present and analyse the selected passages of existing case law and judge-
ments from all three penal systems as well as rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. The
volume places these relevant excerpts of judicial decisions rendered in Germany and the Nether-
lands at the disposal of a wider English-speaking readership and enriches the legal discourse,
which gives the volume additional value. Overall, the authors make a considerable legal-
linguistic contribution, in that they find and use appropriate English terms for criminal law
concepts from countries where English is not the official language.
On the whole, ‘Comparative Conce pts of Criminal Law’ is a valuable re source for a new
generation of law students. It is also a useful point of reference and a source of inspiration for
teachers, academics, legal practitioners, policymakers, interpreters and translators. In the
reviewer’s opinion, the book provides an informative and engaging insight into different aspects
of criminal law from an internati onal comparative perspecti ve, and reading it is certainly an
enriching experience.
The Investigation Phase in International Criminal Procedure in Search of Common Rules, Karel de Meester
(Intersentia, 2015), Cambridge- Antwerp- Portland; 1062 pp.: ISBN 978-1-78068-305-8, €149 (pbk).
Reviewed by: Maria O’Neill, Abertay Univers ity, UK
DOI: 10.1177/2032284417699292
As the publishers themselves say, while there has been a growing literature on international
criminal procedure, there has been less focus on the investigation phase than on the trial phase.
Book reviews 79
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