Prosecuting and Punishing Multi-Offenders in the EU

Beschrijving

This book elaborates on the rules governing the prosecution and sentencing of multi-offenders.

The term ‘multi-offender’ is used for an offender that has committed a series of offences (either in one single act or in different acts); hence the addition of ‘multi’ in ‘multi-offender’. A crucial element thereto is that the whole series of offences – which make the offender a multi-offender – has been committed before being subject to a final conviction.

A comparative EU-study was conducted, focussing on the rules governing multi-offenders within different EU Member States (Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece). It reveals that this type of offenders challenge both the legislator and the prosecution and judges: when the offences are prosecuted in one go, the challenges are linked to finding an appropriate way to assess the severity of the criminal behaviour; if however the offences are prosecuted in several simultaneous or consecutive proceedings, the challenges are linked to taking account of the simultaneous or past proceeding. These challenges only grow if proceedings take place in different EU Member States.

The analysis presented in this book is essential reading for EU policy makers, national policy makers, academics and defence lawyers throughout the EU working with multi-offenders. Undoubtedly, it will be an asset to their work in both mere national as well as in cross-border cases.

Nele Audenaert holds a master’s degree in law (2014), specialises in the European dimension of the general part of criminal law and is preparing a doctoral thesis on this subject matter. Her research is funded by the Special Research Council of Ghent University.

Wendy De Bondt is professor of criminal law, specialised in EU criminal law and the promoter of Nele Audenaert’s doctoral thesis. Both are members of the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy (IRCP) affiliated to the Department of Criminology, Criminal law and Social law at Ghent University.

With contributions of: Nele Audenaert, Willem Geelhoed, Annika Suominen, Dan Helenius, Frank Zimmerman, Martyna Kusak, Vânia Costa Ramos, Diana Silva Pereira, Luzia Prata Cordeiro, Manuel Maroto Calatayud, Marta Muñoz de Moralles, Federica Iovene, Athina Giannakoula.

“This book contains a high level, and wide ranging comparative analysis of the subject matter. It is researched rigorously and may become a reference point in its specific field. It is of interest to criminal law, comparative law and European criminal law scholars.”
– Valsamis Mitsilegas, Professor of European Criminal Law and Global Security, Queen Mary University of London

“This type of country-chapter study has unfairly fallen out of fashion in European criminal law scholarship, perhaps because it is typically difficult to recruit authors and the curation and review of this type of research is also challenging. In this case the rewards match this effort, and I congratulate the contributors collectively for this important study.”
– Samuli Miettinen, Associate Professor of Transnational Law, Tallinn University

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ISBN: 9789463713153

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