20 Years From Tampere. The Constitutionalisation of Europe's Area of Criminal Justice

• Author: Valsamis Mitsilegas
• Profession: Professor of European Criminal Law and Global Security and Deputy Dean for Global Engagement (Europe)
• Pages: 219-224

219

16. 20 YEARS FROM TAMPERE.

THE CONSTITUTIONALISATION

OF EUROPE’S AREA OF

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Valsamis Mitsilegas

Introduction

e Tampere Conclusions introduced an ambitious programme

for the development of European integration in criminal matters,

centered primarily around the principle of mutual recognition.

20 years on, we have witnessed the transformation of European

criminal law from a marginal, intergovernmental eld to one of

the most dynamic and constitutionally signicant areas of EU law.

Indeed, a number of key EU criminal law questions are essentially

constitutional law questions.

is Chapter will assess the great steps taken towards the

coming of age of EU criminal law as a fully edged area of EU law.

It focuses on the constitutionalisation of Europe's criminal justice

area. Four key constitutionalisation developments accelerated by

the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty will be analysed and two

main challenges for the future of EU criminal law will be high-

lighted.

Table of Contents