Functions and Aims of Harmonisation after the Lisbon Treaty: A European Perspective

Abstract

This paper centres on the question of what the functions and aims of harmonization will be after the entry into effect of the Lisbon Treaty, which is as yet uncertain. The answer to that question is indicative of the level that European harmonization of criminal law has now reached. Criminal law is still viewed as an area in which national sovereignty and identity are important themes. The harmonization of criminal law is still at odds with this. At the same time, nobody denies that a purely national approach to criminal law is outmoded and that there are good reasons to enter into and continue close cooperation in criminal law at European level, for example through the approximation of legislation. This entails maintaining the right midpoint: in what areas and to what extent is European unification required for good cooperation and at what levels can Member States give their own substance to criminal law? The position of that right midpoint is not a statistical fact, but particularly the result of an endless political and legal debate. The Lisbon Treaty can be considered as the current state of that debate. Where is the right midpoint when it comes to the willingness and possibilities to harmonize the criminal law of the Member States?

Keywords: european criminal law, harmonization

JEL Classification: K14