EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL
JUSTICE, HOME AFFAIRS AND
SECURITY POLICY
INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN JHA INTEGRATION
= justice home affaires
Development goal 16 is the most important one!
JHA POLICY AREAS
• asylum, migration, border-crossing …
• (judicial cooperation in civil matters)
o eg: wedding for asylum
o Not so important!
• criminal law/policy
o substantive criminal law: what are the offenses and the consequences
o criminal procedural law: rules of play of crime fighting, rights of defense
o international co-operation in criminal matters
▪ judicial co-operation
▪ police and customs (= law enforcement) co-operation across borders
o customs come across a lot of international matters (drugs…)
▪ crime can be international bc of physically cross borders or when assets and
crimes are split
• ‘security’: not necessarily a separate dimension
o Law brings more security for civils ans society
PRINCIPAL JHA COOPERATION LEVELS
• levels
o Council of Europe (CoE)
o European Union (EU)!!
o Schengen (including Prüm)!!
o Benelux, NATO, OSCE, G7/G20, OECD, UN
o handbook: origin and historical development, institutional structure and functioning,
policy, (selective bibliography)
• transversal European JHA integration overview
o during 5 joint classes
o transversal, cross-level character
▪ rationale: institutional and policy dynamics are interwoven
▪ not (entirely) following handbook/paragraph order
1
,COUNCIL OF EUROPE
DEVELOPMENT & MANDATE
• not the same as European council!
• we need to start at WWII
o Churchill called that we need a sort of united states of Europe to overcome the issues
from WWII
o Result: a sudden rise in movements and associations which all supported the idea to
strive for European unity
▪ = The International Committee of the Movements for European Unity who
organized the ‘Congress of Europe’ in The Hague
▪ Goal?
1. Safety, economic independence and social progress
2. The founding of a consulting assembly chosen by national parliaments
3. The drafting of a European charter for human rights
4. The establishment of a court which enforces the charter through its
judgements
• 5 may 1949: Council of Europe was born
o 1 year after the Congress of Europe
o Aim: strive for greater unity between the members, to protect and to realize the ideals
• 1950 ECHR | ECtHR (=European Convention of Human Rights)
• today: 46 countries
o expanded enormously over time
o Russian Federation: 28 February 1996 - 15 March 2022
▪ No longer a member bc they did things that didn’t match the fundaments of the
council of Europe
• intergovermental cooperation VS supranational organization?
o = weakness of the organization
o Supranational = nations give their sovereignty
➔ intergovernmental with some supranational elements
• legal instruments
o conventions, resolutions, recommendation
o resolutions & recommendations
▪ not binding BUT do not underestimate!
▪ eg: European prison rules are often used in judgements
o conventions: seemingly strong, still weaknesses
▪ concluded text, is final
▪ they may become binding BUT not necessarily
▪ BUT nothing happens until states take things further and they are actually bound
▪ It is the choice of the state to ratify something or not (see Belgium 1957)
• broad mandate, including penal matters
• judicial co-operation in criminal matters (mother conventions)
o everything comes from de council of Europe (=mother conventions)
• judicial co-operation in criminal matters & criminal policy (including aspects of substantive
criminal law and criminal procedural law) with regard to specific topics and/or particular
offences
o the council of Europe can also set foot to the substantial and procedural criminal law
➔ enormous span but only bounding when states chooses that
2
,JUDICIAL COOPERATION
Do not study by hart!
mother conventions in criminal matters
• 1957 European Convention on Extradition: 3 Protocols
o Signed by Belgium BUT it took Belgium 40 years until it was ratified
• 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters: 2 Protocols
o = evidence collection and gathering across borders
o Important term!
• 1964 European Convention on Supervision of Conditionally Sentenced/Released Offenders
• 1970 European Convention on the International Validity of Criminal Judgements
• 1972 European Convention on Transfer of Proceedings
• 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons: Protocol
• 1990 Laundering Convention: Protocol
• 2001 Cybercrime Convention: Protocol
• …
CRIME & CRIMINAL POLICY
Domains and topics that the council of Europe is dealing with: really broad!
• judicial co-operation in criminal matters /criminal policy with regard to specific topics and/or
particular offences (sometimes part of the JHA acquis)
• computer-related crime & criminal procedural law connected with it, corruption, crimes against
humanity/war crimes, criminal policy/justice in general, cultural property, data protection, DNA,
drugs, environmental crime, firearms, intimidation of witnesses/rights of the defence,
intolerance/racism and xenophobia, mediation, prison, road traffic, sanctions, (sexual) offences
against minors, terrorism, (victims of) violence
➔ ! it is the policies that are interesting
! to understand the policies/possibilities you need to understand the organization
EC/EU INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
EC = European communities
• EC - Treaties Establishing the
o European Coal and Steel Community (1951)
o European Atomic Energy Community (1957)
o European Economic Community (1957) (TEC)
➔ 3 domains, not about crime fighting!!
• Espace judiciaire Europeén/European Political Co-operation
o between the Member States of the European communities, outside the formal
framework of the European Communities
▪ they do something else that they initially agreed to do
▪ SO they can develop political activities (that has nothing to do with the 3
domains)
o Supranational cooperation: for the 3 domains they have transferred power to
supranational level BUT they don’t do it for the new area (they just simply work together)
3
, • Treaty on European Union (TEU) (Maastricht Treaty, February 1992)
o Start of the European union!!
• Amsterdam Treaty (October 1997)
o changes TEC and TEU, integrates Schengen acquis (Schengen protocol)
• Nice Treaty (February 2001)
• European Constitution (2004)
• Lisbon/Reform Treaty (2007) (from TEU/TEC to TEU/TFEU)
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
= fusion treaty of the 3 communities!
• realisation of an internal market
o area without internal borders in which the free movement of goods, capital, services and
persons is guaranteed
• focus on economic and monetary integration
• no formal competence as regards criminal law
o ! economy → economic crimes, fraud…
o SO competence to combat fraud against the EC budget on an administrative level
➔ the 3 communities not so relevant for criminal law, except for the third one!
4
JUSTICE, HOME AFFAIRS AND
SECURITY POLICY
INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN JHA INTEGRATION
= justice home affaires
Development goal 16 is the most important one!
JHA POLICY AREAS
• asylum, migration, border-crossing …
• (judicial cooperation in civil matters)
o eg: wedding for asylum
o Not so important!
• criminal law/policy
o substantive criminal law: what are the offenses and the consequences
o criminal procedural law: rules of play of crime fighting, rights of defense
o international co-operation in criminal matters
▪ judicial co-operation
▪ police and customs (= law enforcement) co-operation across borders
o customs come across a lot of international matters (drugs…)
▪ crime can be international bc of physically cross borders or when assets and
crimes are split
• ‘security’: not necessarily a separate dimension
o Law brings more security for civils ans society
PRINCIPAL JHA COOPERATION LEVELS
• levels
o Council of Europe (CoE)
o European Union (EU)!!
o Schengen (including Prüm)!!
o Benelux, NATO, OSCE, G7/G20, OECD, UN
o handbook: origin and historical development, institutional structure and functioning,
policy, (selective bibliography)
• transversal European JHA integration overview
o during 5 joint classes
o transversal, cross-level character
▪ rationale: institutional and policy dynamics are interwoven
▪ not (entirely) following handbook/paragraph order
1
,COUNCIL OF EUROPE
DEVELOPMENT & MANDATE
• not the same as European council!
• we need to start at WWII
o Churchill called that we need a sort of united states of Europe to overcome the issues
from WWII
o Result: a sudden rise in movements and associations which all supported the idea to
strive for European unity
▪ = The International Committee of the Movements for European Unity who
organized the ‘Congress of Europe’ in The Hague
▪ Goal?
1. Safety, economic independence and social progress
2. The founding of a consulting assembly chosen by national parliaments
3. The drafting of a European charter for human rights
4. The establishment of a court which enforces the charter through its
judgements
• 5 may 1949: Council of Europe was born
o 1 year after the Congress of Europe
o Aim: strive for greater unity between the members, to protect and to realize the ideals
• 1950 ECHR | ECtHR (=European Convention of Human Rights)
• today: 46 countries
o expanded enormously over time
o Russian Federation: 28 February 1996 - 15 March 2022
▪ No longer a member bc they did things that didn’t match the fundaments of the
council of Europe
• intergovermental cooperation VS supranational organization?
o = weakness of the organization
o Supranational = nations give their sovereignty
➔ intergovernmental with some supranational elements
• legal instruments
o conventions, resolutions, recommendation
o resolutions & recommendations
▪ not binding BUT do not underestimate!
▪ eg: European prison rules are often used in judgements
o conventions: seemingly strong, still weaknesses
▪ concluded text, is final
▪ they may become binding BUT not necessarily
▪ BUT nothing happens until states take things further and they are actually bound
▪ It is the choice of the state to ratify something or not (see Belgium 1957)
• broad mandate, including penal matters
• judicial co-operation in criminal matters (mother conventions)
o everything comes from de council of Europe (=mother conventions)
• judicial co-operation in criminal matters & criminal policy (including aspects of substantive
criminal law and criminal procedural law) with regard to specific topics and/or particular
offences
o the council of Europe can also set foot to the substantial and procedural criminal law
➔ enormous span but only bounding when states chooses that
2
,JUDICIAL COOPERATION
Do not study by hart!
mother conventions in criminal matters
• 1957 European Convention on Extradition: 3 Protocols
o Signed by Belgium BUT it took Belgium 40 years until it was ratified
• 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters: 2 Protocols
o = evidence collection and gathering across borders
o Important term!
• 1964 European Convention on Supervision of Conditionally Sentenced/Released Offenders
• 1970 European Convention on the International Validity of Criminal Judgements
• 1972 European Convention on Transfer of Proceedings
• 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons: Protocol
• 1990 Laundering Convention: Protocol
• 2001 Cybercrime Convention: Protocol
• …
CRIME & CRIMINAL POLICY
Domains and topics that the council of Europe is dealing with: really broad!
• judicial co-operation in criminal matters /criminal policy with regard to specific topics and/or
particular offences (sometimes part of the JHA acquis)
• computer-related crime & criminal procedural law connected with it, corruption, crimes against
humanity/war crimes, criminal policy/justice in general, cultural property, data protection, DNA,
drugs, environmental crime, firearms, intimidation of witnesses/rights of the defence,
intolerance/racism and xenophobia, mediation, prison, road traffic, sanctions, (sexual) offences
against minors, terrorism, (victims of) violence
➔ ! it is the policies that are interesting
! to understand the policies/possibilities you need to understand the organization
EC/EU INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
EC = European communities
• EC - Treaties Establishing the
o European Coal and Steel Community (1951)
o European Atomic Energy Community (1957)
o European Economic Community (1957) (TEC)
➔ 3 domains, not about crime fighting!!
• Espace judiciaire Europeén/European Political Co-operation
o between the Member States of the European communities, outside the formal
framework of the European Communities
▪ they do something else that they initially agreed to do
▪ SO they can develop political activities (that has nothing to do with the 3
domains)
o Supranational cooperation: for the 3 domains they have transferred power to
supranational level BUT they don’t do it for the new area (they just simply work together)
3
, • Treaty on European Union (TEU) (Maastricht Treaty, February 1992)
o Start of the European union!!
• Amsterdam Treaty (October 1997)
o changes TEC and TEU, integrates Schengen acquis (Schengen protocol)
• Nice Treaty (February 2001)
• European Constitution (2004)
• Lisbon/Reform Treaty (2007) (from TEU/TEC to TEU/TFEU)
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
= fusion treaty of the 3 communities!
• realisation of an internal market
o area without internal borders in which the free movement of goods, capital, services and
persons is guaranteed
• focus on economic and monetary integration
• no formal competence as regards criminal law
o ! economy → economic crimes, fraud…
o SO competence to combat fraud against the EC budget on an administrative level
➔ the 3 communities not so relevant for criminal law, except for the third one!
4
