European Criminal Justice

Abstract

While some consider criminal justice to be adomaine réservéfor nation-states,criminal justice systems in Europe become ever more intertwined, the legal codesever more harmonized, and transnational cooperation ever more common. On asupranational level, the investigation and prosecution of some crimes has beentransferred by 22 EU Member States to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in2021. In this essay, I will provide a short overview of the genesis andstatus quoofwhat commonly is referred to as European Criminal Justice or European CriminalLaw. Particular focus will be put on the activities of the Council of Europe and theEuropean Union (1). On this basis, I will sketch out three current challenges ofEuropean Criminal Justice, namely, rule of law concerns regarding some Euro-pean states, the continuing focus on nation-states, and a Europe with multiplespeeds of integration (2). Finally, I will provide an outlook on the future path Eu-ropean Criminal Justice may take (3).