European criminal law is a recent concept, one which does not appear to have been previously compiled; it is also a discipline of the future. At a time when a united Europe is still being formed while crime is becoming a multinational operation, it is impossible to avoid the creation of a pan-European body of criminal law, despite the fact that the concept of individual nationhood continues to exist within Europe. This is the reason for the gradual but certain development of a European system of penal law under the aegis of political bodies such as the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Schengen Area.
The guiding principles behind this new system of criminal law are those of greater mutual assistance in law enforcement between States and approximation of national legislation. More specifically, there are three facets to European criminal law:
co-operation between the law enforcement bodies and police forces in the States;
human rights, a field which is by no means restricted to criminal law but within which criminal law is of prime importance; and
the laws of the European Union which, without being criminal in principle, nevertheless involve many incidents of a potentially criminal nature.
These three aspects of European criminal law have already resulted in the signing of numerous treaties as well as intense activity on the part of two Europe-wide courts, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice.
Foreword , Abbreviations, Introduction
Part One: European Inter-state
Co-operation in Criminal Matters (Council of Europe and the European Union)
Title 1: Co-operation in General Matters
Chapter 1: Primary Mutual
Assistance
Chapter 2: Secondary Mutual Assistance
Title 2:
Co-operation in Special Applications
Chapter 1: Conventions Relating to
Certain Offences
Chapter 2: Conventions Relating to Certain Individuals
Part Two: Criminal Law And The European Convention On Human
Rights (Council of Europe) Title 1: The Human Rights Jurisdictions: A
Study of the European Court of Human Rights
Title 2: Content of Human
Rights
Chapter 1: Paramount Rights
Chapter 2: Procedural Rights
Part Three: Criminal Law and Community Law (European
Union) Title 1: Bodies And Institutions
Title 2: The Sources
Chapter 1: Fonnal Diversity of the Sources
Chapter 2: Actual
Uniformity Behind The Sources: Respect For Fundamental Rights
Title 3:
Operation (The positive and negative effects of Community legislation on
national criminal law)
Chapter 1: The Negative Effect: The
Incompatibility of the Provisions of National Law with Community Law
Chapter 2: The Positive Effect: Obligations of Member States with respect
to Criminal Law
Appendix I: Glossary
Appendix II: European
Convention of Human Rights and its protocols
Appendix III: Consolidated
Version of the Treaty on European Union Alphabetical index, Table of contents
