This book offers unique insight to the regulatory, operational, and institutional advances of OLAF (the European Commission's Anti-Fraud Office). Since OLAF was set up in 1999, changes in the three levels of OLAF's functional environment have taken place: continuing advances in EU criminal law, especially in the areas of mutual assistance and substantive criminal law; the reconstruction of Eurojust and Europol though recent regulations and memoranda of cooperation; and the prospect of the Lisbon Treaty. The book shares the view that OLAF's current legal framework must adequately address these issues. The book's approach is multi-disciplinary. OLAF is examined through the prism of law and EU politics, thus focusing not only on the identification of current problems in regulation and procedure, but also on the feasibility of the institution in the future of European integration. This approach is dialectic in that after the exposure of regulatory and institutional defaults, operational solutions are then discussed. Although there is little doubt that OLAF suffers from regulatory discrepancies and institutional inefficiencies, there is value in the argument that its staff has managed to devise operational and functional mechanisms that address some of these problems, allowing the institution to proceed legitimately with its crucial role in combating fraud within the EU. Notwithstanding the efficiency and ingenuity of its staff, the need for express rules covering procedural and operational issues must be safeguarded in regulation. (Series: Studies in International and Comparative Criminal Law)

There is little doubt that a series of EU Directives on money laundering and on public procurement have not reduced the incidence of financial crime in public contracts, in banking transactions, or in dealings among the "vulnerable" professions (mainly accountants, lawyers, and notaries). It is the convincingly argued thesis of this book that this failure stems directly from the dependence of these EU Directives on national laws on criminal records. Harmonisation of these laws, the book demonstrates, is not only necessary but urgent. In eighteen incisive essays, leading European authorities in the field provide in-depth discussion of such elements of the subject as methodologies for collecting criminal records, the authorities maintaining such records, the contents of such records and who has access to them, and conflicts with human rights and privacy legislation. The authors show that these factors and others vary enormously from country to country. They recommend EU initiatives that clearly mandate such specifications as the following: efficient exchange of criminal record data among national authorities; which crimes lead to compulsory exclusion from employment, membership, or participation in banking or public tenders; the specific types of employment, membership, and participation affected; erasure period for convictions; level of access for banks, professional associations, and tendering authorities to criminal records; and, exchange of criminal record data in the framework of EU data protection legislation. Standing as it does at a pressure point where criminal law collides with human rights on the one hand and public contracts on the other, this seminal work has a great deal to offer interested parties in several diverse fields of law and administration. The findings and recommendations of its authors are sure to evoke debate across a broad spectrum of academic, professional, and policymaking endeavour.

First published in 1997. Article 224 is one of the most powerful Articles of the Treaty of Rome, allowing a member state to take unilateral measures and to suspend some or all its Treaty-based obligations in times of what can loosely be described as serious internal turmoil or external threat. It is for this reason that the very next Article of the Treaty, Article 225, allows the Commission or a member state to challenge invocation of Art.224, before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), on grounds of improper use. In practice, the use of Art.224, by a member state presents multiple problems. The obvious connection with defence and security issues has inhibited the ECJ which still has not given and authentic interpretation of this Article. As the recent former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) cases (Greek referral for the embargo on FYROM) indicate, unless the use of Art.224 is blatantly flippant, the ECJ is not in a position to challenge a member state's unilateral measures.

First published in 1997. Article 224 is one of the most powerful Articles of the Treaty of Rome, allowing a member state to take unilateral measures and to suspend some or all its Treaty-based obligations in times of what can loosely be described as serious internal turmoil or external threat. It is for this reason that the very next Article of the Treaty, Article 225, allows the Commission or a member state to challenge invocation of Art.224, before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), on grounds of improper use. In practice, the use of Art.224, by a member state presents multiple problems. The obvious connection with defence and security issues has inhibited the ECJ which still has not given and authentic interpretation of this Article. As the recent former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) cases (Greek referral for the embargo on FYROM) indicate, unless the use of Art.224 is blatantly flippant, the ECJ is not in a position to challenge a member state's unilateral measures.

This informative book provides an in-depth study of Cyprus' efforts to join the European Union. It examines the various steps taken towards harmonization in various contexts, the suitability of the country for EU accession, and the political problems surrounding the Cypriot EU accession. Constantin Stefanou also broadens the scope to consider the wider issues surrounding EU accession negotiations for applicant countries, especially with reference to the new and untested EU guidelines. The volume will be of great value to those interested in Europe and the European Union in general, and European Law and the development of Cyprus in particular.

Drafting Legislation sets out to prove Sir William Dale's doctrine that the rules for drafting good quality legislation are the same in common and civil systems of law. Legislative solutions can therefore serve the drafter, the judge and the practitioner of any jurisdiction. The book discusses the general issue of quality in legislation from the legislative process to the actual drafting interpretation and enforcement. It also analyzes topics related to quality in legislation such as clarity, precision and disambiguity, plain language and gender-neutral language and assesses whether Sir William's view of universality in the definition and elements of quality in legislation is right or not. The volume is of critical interest to students and scholars of European law and the philosophy and theory of law.

The success of the four core freedoms of the EU has created fertile ground for transnational organised crime. Innovative, transnational legal weapons are therefore required by national authorities. The availability of data on criminal convictions is at the forefront of the debate. But which mechanism for availability can be used effectively while at the same time respecting an increasingly higher level of data protection at national level? In the fluid, post-'Reform Treaty' environment, the EU is moving towards the creation of a European Criminal Record which will ultimately secure availability of criminal data beyond the weaknesses of Mutual Legal Assistance mechanisms. Examining the concept of a European Criminal Record in its legal, political and data protection dimensions, this multidisciplinary study is an indispensable exploration of a major initiative in European Criminal Law which is set to monopolise the debate on EU judicial co-operation and enforcement.

The success of the four core freedoms of the EU has created fertile ground for transnational organised crime. Innovative, transnational legal weapons are therefore required by national authorities. The availability of data on criminal convictions is at the forefront of the debate. But which mechanism for availability can be used effectively while at the same time respecting an increasingly higher level of data protection at national level? In the fluid, post-'Reform Treaty' environment, the EU is moving towards the creation of a European Criminal Record which will ultimately secure availability of criminal data beyond the weaknesses of Mutual Legal Assistance mechanisms. Examining the concept of a European Criminal Record in its legal, political and data protection dimensions, this multidisciplinary study is an indispensable exploration of a major initiative in European Criminal Law which is set to monopolise the debate on EU judicial co-operation and enforcement.