Combating Corruption in an International Dimension

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Year: 2025

Speaker

Serena Quattrocolo is a Full Professor of Italian and European Criminal Procedure at the University of Turin, specializing in criminal procedural law, European criminal investigations, and transnational legal studies. Her academic trajectory includes serving as Dean of the Law School at the University of Piemonte Orientale from 2019 to 2023, and as a visiting scholar at King’s College London and FGV São Paulo. Professor Quattrocolo has been a member of expert boards appointed by the Italian Ministry of Justice for criminal justice reforms and has played a leading role in EU-funded research projects such as NET4FEU and PRECRIM. She is actively engaged in international debate, having presented at major conferences including the International Association of Penal Law Congress on “Artificial Intelligence and Criminal Justice.” In addition, she serves on editorial and scientific boards of leading journals and book series, contributing significantly to comparative, European, and international criminal law scholarship.

Topic

In this EU-presentation at the ERA online course on “Combating corruption in an international dimension” (27–28 February 2025), Prof. Serena Quattrocolo from the University of Turin outlines the evolving European and international frameworks addressing corruption. The presentation begins with data from the 2024 EU Rule of Law Report and Transparency International, showing widespread public concern and limited trust in governmental anti-corruption efforts. Quattrocolo then distinguishes between typologies of corruption—petty, grand, transactive, extortive, active, and passive—highlighting their diverse impact on governance and enforcement.

The discussion moves to key international instruments, from the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (1997) to the UN Convention against Corruption (2003), which recognized corruption as a systemic, transnational phenomenon linked to organized crime and financial instability. At the EU level, milestones include the PIF Directive (2017/1371), the creation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and directives on asset confiscation, anti-money laundering, public procurement, and whistleblower protection.

Finally,...