Suchergebnisse

A large and constantly growing number of criminal offences, not only cybercrime, is committed in a way that leaves digital traces which can serve as evidence. This data is in the possession of service providers, often located in a different country than the place of an investigation. The available model of cross-border gathering of evidence, based on mutual legal assistance, is considered too cumbersome and lengthy for the digital world. Similar reservations have been made as regards the European Investigation Order. In response, the European Commission proposed the so-called e-evidence package in 2018, which – after 5 years of arduous negotiations – was finally adopted on 12 July 2023. Its main element is the European Production Order, an instrument based on mutual recognition which will allow law enforcement authorities in one Member State to request Internet service providers in another Member State to produce data without or with limited involvement of the authorities of the latter State. This new system is effectively a legal revolution which redefines the concept of mutual recognition and creates a model where service providers will play a significant role in safeguarding their users' fundamental rights. This article examines the paradigm shift caused by this instrument, analyses the dynamics of interaction between the parties involved – in particular the role private actors will play in it – in order to verify the correctness of the legal basis and reveal the consequences of such a new system for transnational cooperation and service providers in the EU.

Tobacco products are heavily regulated because, in particular, of their acknowledged harmfulness to health, with highly elevated prices as one of the most important means of discouraging consumption. One of the most serious threats to the effectiveness of the tobacco policy comes from the trafficking of illicit tobacco, which is much cheaper, often of lower quality, and which reduces state and EU revenues. The achievement of tobacco policy objectives, in particular the combatting of illicit tobacco trade, depends on the participation of private actors, amongst which big industry plays a crucial role. Yet, the legal landscape of enforcement duties of the tobacco industry is a patchwork of instruments, unevenly affecting different players. In particular it includes controversial agreements between the major tobacco producers and the EU and Member States, to which three out of four major producers are subject. The agreement with the fourth – PMI – was not extended by the Commission in 2016. The decision as to the extension of the remaining agreements is looming.The objective of this article is to analyse the framework of duties of the tobacco industry in the enforcement of the tobacco policy, especially against illicit tobacco, and to reflect on whether the enforcement model, including the agreements with the tobacco producers, should be kept or abandoned.

This book focuses on the enforcement aspect of tobacco control policy, and argues that the intense regulation of the tobacco market will never be successful as long as it can be circumvented by the availability of illicit tobacco products. Yet, current efforts to combat illicit tobacco trade are insufficient, suffering from several flaws and gaps at the regulatory and operational levels. The aim of this book is to provide an analysis of the legal framework and practice of enforcement with regard to illicit tobacco products. Combining criminological and legal perspectives, it presents and critically analyses the phenomenon of illicit tobacco trade, as well as the policies, legal frameworks and practices in six EU countries with regard to combatting this phenomenon, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches. Furthermore, it studies the relationship between the EU and third countries (e.g. Ukraine) in terms of how the EU can influence policy and enforcement in these countries in order to counter illicit tobacco trafficking. Not exclusively focusing on the EU, the book also includes an analysis of enforcement against illicit tobacco products in the US. The EU Member States analysed in the book (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland) reflect the range of currently available approaches. Some of them have ratified the WHO Protocol against tobacco smuggling; others have not. They belong to different legal traditions and face different challenges due to their respective border situations. While Belgium and the Netherlands are key entry ports to the EU, Poland and Latvia represent the Eastern land border of the EU, with various regional challenges. Italy has a long maritime border, where trafficking is possible from Northern Africa and from the Middle East. It also has significant experience in fighting organised crime. Lastly, Germany is the largest market in Europe and situated in the middle of these trafficking routes.

The EU's membership enlargement in 2004 has generated narratives that problematise its new Eastern neighbourhood as part of the EU's security threats. Included in such perceived threats is illicit tobacco trade, which is the focus of this chapter and edited volume. Within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU has devised a voluminous number of political, legal, and financial instruments, aiming to facilitate the improvement of customs and border management to combat illicit tobacco trade. One of the most iconic in this regard is the EU's Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) established in 2005. EUBAM has provided legislative and administrative support to Moldova and Ukraine's authorities and conducted joint operations in combatting illicit tobacco trade. By providing an overview of some of the instruments to tackle the perceived security threat, the chapter sheds light on a fundamental ambivalence underlying the EU's approaches to its eastern neighbourhood, which may, in the long run, affect the effectiveness of the initiatives to combat illicit tobacco trade.

The EU's membership enlargement in 2004 has generated narratives that problematise its new Eastern neighbourhood as part of the EU's security threats. Included in such perceived threats is illicit tobacco trade, which is the focus of this chapter and edited volume. Within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU has devised a voluminous number of political, legal, and financial instruments, aiming to facilitate the improvement of customs and border management to combat illicit tobacco trade. One of the most iconic in this regard is the EU's Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) established in 2005. EUBAM has provided legislative and administrative support to Moldova and Ukraine's authorities and conducted joint operations in combatting illicit tobacco trade. By providing an overview of some of the instruments to tackle the perceived security threat, the chapter sheds light on a fundamental ambivalence underlying the EU's approaches to its eastern neighbourhood, which may, in the long run, affect the effectiveness of the initiatives to combat illicit tobacco trade.

On 10 March 2023, John Vervaele retired as professor of Economic and European criminal law at Utrecht University. On the occasion of that farewell, this liber amicorum was presented to him. It comprises 85 contributions, written in a variety of languages by friends, colleagues and former colleagues from all over the world.00In keeping with the tradition of the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, the contributions are arranged around the following themes, which have also been central to John's work: criminal justice, core values and human rights; crime, criminology and criminal justice; criminal justice and European integration; corporate crime and the enforcement of socio-economic law; and conflicts and transitional justice.00The contributions are very worthwhile for an academic audience, as well as for legal practitioners