Since their creation, the European Union and the Council of Europe have worked to harmonise the justice systems of their member states. This project has been met with a series of challenges. European Criminal Law offers a compelling insight into the development and functions of European criminal law. It tracks the historical development of European criminal law, offering a detailed critical analysis of the criminal justice systems responsible for its implementation. While the rapid expansion and transnationalisation of criminal law is a necessary response to the growing numbers of free movement of persons and goods, it has serious implications for the rights of European citizens and needs to be balanced with rights protections. With its close analysis of secondary legislation and reliance on a wide variety of original sources, this book provides a thorough understanding of European Criminal Law and the institutions involved.

Kai Ambos is Chair of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Comparative Law and International Criminal Law and also Head of the Department of Foreign and International Criminal Law, Institute of Criminal Law and Justice at the Georg-August-Universitat, Göttingen, Germany (GAU). He is the Director of the GAU's Research Centre for Latin American Criminal Law and Procedure (Centro de Derecho Penal y Proceso Penal Latinoamericano, CEDPAL). He has been a Judge at the Provincial Court (Landgericht) of Göttingen from 2006 to March 2017 until his appointment as judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, The Hague; he has been selected as advisor (amicus curiae) to the Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Bogotá, in December 2017. His main research areas lie in comparative, international and European criminal law and procedure. He has worked extensively in Latin America and Eastern Europe on human rights, drug-related issues and criminal law reforms.