Is there more to it than the fights against 'dirty money'? Art 95 EC and the criminal law

The fight against dirty money and financial crimes in general is a very high priority for the EU - increasingly often on the top of the agenda - in the integration mission to establish a genuine, crime free, European space. Especially, the EC has frequently addressed the problem of white collar crime, accusing it of undermining the confidence in the market and thereby hampering the smooth running and full effectiveness of it. A considerable crux in this EC ‘tough on crime’ approach has, however, been the lack of a legislative competence, at the supranational level. Nonetheless, recently the landmark ruling of C-176/03, Commission v. Council, came partly to the rescue. More specifically, this case set the constitutional snowball rolling, bringing with it a range of dormant/latent EC proposals eagerly suggesting a criminal law competence. This paper provides a critical analysis of current developments in the area of financial crimes by discussing the federal scope of art 95 EC and art 5 (1) EC.

Journal/Publisher: European Business Law Review, Volume 19, Issue 3

Publication type: Article

Number of pages/Page range: 557–577

Language/s (content): English

Date of publication: 02-01-08

Personal data

Full name Ester HERLIN-KARNELL

Current occupation Member

University/Institution VU University Amsterdam

Address De Boelelaan 1105

Postal code 1081 HV

Telephone 0031 205989652

Fax 0031 20598 6300

Email e.herlinkarnell@vu.nl