El papel presente y futuro de Eurojust en la prevención y resolución de conflictos de jurisdicción penal entre estados miembros de la Unión Europea

Abstract

According to art. 3.2 TEU, “The Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers (…) in conjunction with appropriate measures with respect to (…) the prevention and combating of crime”. In fulfilment of this mandate, the EU is developing a sort of European Area of Criminal Justice, based on mutual recognition instruments (from the EAW to the EIO), on the establishment of specialized bodies and agencies (from Eurojust to EPPO) and on the approximation and harmonization of criminal law. However, EU´s action in this field has not yet included an effective mechanism to determine the competent criminal jurisdiction in transnational criminal investigations and proceedings. Therefore, different national criminal jurisdictions still coexist within the AFSJ, a situation which may eventually lead to conflicts in transnational circumstances. In this sense, the prevention and settlement of conflicts of criminal jurisdiction between Member States plays a key role in the effectiveness of the whole EU´s response against cross-border crime. The current legal framework in the EU on prevention and settlement of conflicts of criminal jurisdiction is still based on instruments adopted according to the former third pillar rules, which includes the optional and non-binding assistance of Eurojust in the case. Nevertheless, after the Lisbon Treaty came into force, there is a new legal basis in the primary law on conflicts of jurisdiction, composed by arts. 82.1 b) and 85.1 c) TFEU, which allows to adopt new directives and regulations on this matter. However, so far there is no any legal instrument or proposal that explores the new legal basis on conflicts of criminal jurisdiction yet. This doctoral dissertation analyses the weaknesses and loopholes that exist in the current legal framework, paying particular attention to the current and future role of Eurojust on this matter and to the numerous deficiencies, from the perspective of suspected and accused’s rights and criminal safeguards, which can be observed in the procedure for the settlement of conflicts of criminal jurisdiction currently in force. The aim of this research is to propose new models de lege ferenda for the prevention and settlement of conflicts of criminal jurisdiction in the EU by exploring the capabilities of the new primary law and in which Eurojust will assume a strengthened role in the settlement of the conflict.