Towards a European Criminal Record

The success of the four core freedoms of the EU has created fertile ground for transnational organised crime. Innovative, transnational legal weapons are therefore required by national authorities. The availability of data on criminal convictions is at the forefront of the debate. But which mechanism for availability can be used effectively while at the same time respecting an increasingly higher level of data protection at national level? In the fluid, post-'Reform Treaty' environment, the EU is moving towards the creation of a European Criminal Record which will ultimately secure availability of criminal data beyond the weaknesses of Mutual Legal Assistance mechanisms. Examining the concept of a European Criminal Record in its legal, political and data protection dimensions, this multidisciplinary study is an indispensable exploration of a major initiative in European Criminal Law which is set to monopolise the debate on EU judicial co-operation and enforcement. • Revisits EU criminal law and the use of criminal records as a tool against organised crime, thus exploring a topic which has received little recent attention • Includes national and comparative reports on the feasibility of the European Criminal Record, offering insight into the negotiations for criminal law legislation at EU level • Assesses the relationship between crime prevention and data protection at EU level, and also the potential repercussions on national legislation

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Reviews:

'The bulk of the book consists of essays contributed by specialists drawn from 11 member states. This part marshals an impressive array of expertise, covering matters such as what is entered on domestic criminal record systems, the use to which the contents of such systems may lawfully be put and the extent (if any) to which entries may be deleted. … the editors have assembled an impressively wide-ranging body of contributors whose essays certainly inform - and will doubtless help to shape the debate as to the creation of a European criminal record.' - Criminal Law and Justice Weekly '… offers a valuable framework of reference … very interesting book on a fascinating topic.' European Law Review

1. Introduction: How the idea of a European Criminal Record came to be Constantin Stefanou and Helen Xanthaki 2. The European Criminal Record: analysis Helen Xanthaki 3. The European Criminal Record: the political parameters Constantin Stefanou 4. The European Criminal Record: human rights considerations Alexandra Xanthaki 5. The European Criminal Record in Austria Robert Kert 6. The European Criminal Record in the Czech Republic Jaroslav Fenyk 7. The European Criminal Record in Germany Lorenz Böllinger 8. The European Criminal Record in Greece Maria Gavouneli and Pantelis Traianos 9. The European Criminal Record in Hungary Katalin Ligeti 10. The European Criminal Record in Ireland Ivana Bacik 11. The European Criminal Record in the Netherlands Oswald Jansen 12. The European Criminal Record in Slovenia Katja Šugman and Dragan Petrovec 13. The European Criminal Record in Slovakia Anna Ondrejova 14. The European Criminal Record in Spain Francisco Javier García Fernández 15. The European Criminal Record in England and Wales Lisa Webley 16. Databases in the area of freedom, security and justice: lessons for the centralisation of records and their maximum exchange Valsamis Mitsilegas 17. A European Criminal Records Database: an integrated model Els de Busser 18. The European Criminal Record: feasible or folly? Helen Xanthaki 19. Conclusions Constantin Stefanou and Helen Xanthaki