Research project PC/08 (Research action PC)
In the framework of the European integration process, cooperation between States in the area of criminal affairs constitutes the indisputable counterpart of political, economic, and financial integration. This marks the end of national legal culture and of the autonomy of national legislation in criminal matters. In the framework of cooperation between the polices and judiciaries of different states, the accused and the victims are ill protected. International cooperation is multilateral, bilateral, and regional and takes many divergent forms and dimensions. An inventory of the position of law within all these cooperations is imperative (module 1).
Comparative law and empirical research must help to identify gaps in the field of legal protection. On this basis, policy proposals and models will be formulated at both the national and international levels (module 4).
Attention is paid more specifically to compensation for victims of trans-boundary criminality (module 2) and to the situation of minors guilty of trans-boundary crimes (module 3).
The research covers the countries which initially signed the Schengen agreement (Benelux, Germany, and France).
