Commission Communication: Towards a reasonable use of criminal law

A Press Release by the European Commission explicitly mentions the Manifesto on European Criminal Policy, drafted by the ECPI, as the background for the new strategy „Towards a reasonable use of criminl law“. In an important Communication the Commission sets out the conditions under which the Union and Member States can work together to put in place a coherent and consistent EU criminal policy as demanded by the ECPI. According to the Commission – and in conformity with the ECPI’s Manifesto – the important guiding criteria include:

• Criminal law must always remain a measure of last resort
• Criminal law sanctions are reserved for particularly serious offences
• Criminal law measures are fundamental rights-sensitive: new legislation requires the strict respect of fundamental rights as guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights.
• Every decision on what type of criminal law measure or sanction to adopt must be accompanied by clear factual evidence and respect the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality

In addition to that – and also in conformity with the Manifesto – the Commission stresses the importance of the European Parliament: „Criminal law measures adopted at EU level by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers differ from national criminal law in one important respect: they cannot impose direct obligations on individuals. EU criminal law only can lead to sanctions being imposed on individuals once a national Parliament has transposed it into national legislation. This is why the involvement of national Parliaments throughout the process of criminal law-making is seen as crucial by the European Commission.“

For the complete Press Release click here. The respective Communication by the Commission is available on its website.