Globalised Criminal Justice in the European Union Context: How Theory Meets Practice

Abstract

This paper will explore a question about the operation of an increasingly globalised criminal justice system in the European Union context. The emergence of European Union criminal law, characterised by its legal supremacy and universalism is a relatively new research area in penal science. This raises the need for some discussion of governing rules and principles. European Union criminal justice should be based on the principle of mutual recognition which is now formally recognised as a foundation stone of judicial cooperation in criminal matters among the Members States. Such an approach presupposes that each competent national authority should trust the criminal justice systems of its peers. This allows therefore for some legal pluralism. However, the principle of mutual recognition does not have an absolute character, in the sense of allowing for the adoption of rules and procedures in a pure legal form in another Member State.