02260156 - Advanced Issues in Transnational Crime and Criminal Law

Transnational criminal law, a system of law that covers ‘crimes of international concern’ or so-called treaty crimes, continues to evolve. It presents interesting conceptual issues, such as the search of its identity as a distinct area of international (criminal) law, and different legal and practical challenges linked to the effectiveness of the actual mechanisms used for cooperation and investigations of crimes across borders.

The course aims to familiarize students with the area of transnational criminal law, with a special focus on the main cooperation mechanisms and procedures and the most important institutions and organizations which enable police and judicial cooperation on both regional and global levels.

The course will address the following topics:
- the concept of transnational criminal law and transnational crimes as a category of offences separate from ‘core’ international crimes;
- the main categories of substantive offences criminalized in international and regional multi-lateral treaties (e.g. drug trafficking, illicit traffic in cultural property, cybercrime, etc.);
- the role of transnational criminal law in the extraterritorial expansion by states of their jurisdiction in order to suppress transnational crimes;
- procedures and cooperation mechanisms (mutual legal assistance, joint investigation teams, extradition, asset recovery) enabling police and judicial cooperation on international and regional levels;
- institutions and organisations performing different functions within the system of transnational criminal law.

Students are invited to read the required reading material. They will take part in a presentation and the interactive discussions which should allow them to better understand the overall system of transnational criminal law and identify and critically assess practical issues and challenges posed by translational crimes.