Implementation of EU Criminal Law: which methodology for evaluation?

Date: 21-10-2005 to 22-11-2005

Location: Maison des associations internationales

Languages: French, English

Organiser: ECLAN (IEE-ULB)

Type: Conference

The EU has adopted an increasing number of instruments in the field of criminal law (Title VI of the TUE or third pillar of the EU) having an important impact on national legislation and practices. The purpose of the conference is to conduct an analysis of the evaluation of such impact. The issue of evaluation is nowadays of great significance. Its importance has been emphasised by the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and by the The Hague Programme and the Action Plan for its implementation. Evaluation plays a crucial role for the establishment and the development of mutual trust which is a condition for the implementation of the mutual recognition principle and, more generally, a basic tenet of the European criminal area. The theme of evaluation is relatively recent in this policy field. Therefore, in order to full exploit its potentialities, it is essential to refer to experiences of evaluation carried out in different contexts. For this reason, the first session of the conference will be dealing with evaluation with a comparative approach, by examining other experiences of evaluation both at EU level (first pillar) and at international level (Council of Europe, United Nations). This first session will be followed by a second session devoted to evaluation in the framework of the third pillar of the TUE. Attention will be paid to the evaluation of both member states and candidate countries. The conference will focus on the methodology of assessment in general and not on the implementation of a specific instrument of European criminal law. Therefore object of evaluation will not only be the legal conformity of the transposition process but also the overall impact of EU criminal law on domestic criminal systems. 

The results of this conference  were published by ECLAN under the tittle: "Comment évaluer le droit pénal européen?"