When the Line is Crossed... Paths to Control and Sanction Behaviour Necessitating a State Reaction

• NCJ Number: 224457
• Journal: European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 14 Issue: 2-3 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 101-122
• Author(s): Marianne Wade; Marcelo Aebi; Bruno Aubusson de Cavarlay; Mara Balcells; Gwladys Gillieron; Hakan Hakeri; Martin Killias; Christopher Lewis; Erika Roth; Paul Smit; Piotr Sobota; Ksenija Turkovic; Josef Zila
• Date Published: August 2008
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: For related articles in this special issue see NCJ-224456, and NCJ-224458-72

Annotation

This article attempts to establish a basis for the overall approach (to comparatively analyze the functions performed by prosecution services across Europe) describing the different offense concepts and the different treatment of criminal cases within the various criminal justice systems.

Abstract

The range of criminal justice proceeding options (criminal and noncriminal) described from the 11 European countries (England, Wales), France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey) provides flexibility within criminal justice systems and possibilities without which the systems studied would not be able to master their caseloads. However, the negative side of this is that the state effectively imposes a sanction of sorts upon its citizens without the protection of full criminal proceedings intended to ensure against incorrect conviction and punishment. The chances of incorrect treatment are then raised. All of the systems studied allow for an appeal procedure to counter this. A further issue is the question as to where the line between criminal and noncriminal offenses should be drawn as well as which offenses it is legitimate to deal with by drops, disposals, and nonpublic convicting proceedings. In addition, in as far as a line is drawn pragmatically, meaning that more frequently committed offenses will be decriminalized or subjected to milder consequences or less intrusive proceedings, in order to provide criminal justice system relief, this may lead to a very strange situation, as far as determining principles behind the criminal law are concerned. The respective criminal justice system's legitimacy may in turn be undermined. This article provides an overview of the various forms of proceedings available within 11 European criminal justice systems and reflects upon their core features. It also provides a picture of how far alternative, noncriminal proceedings are used by some of the systems as a different path to imposing a state reaction upon wrong-doers. Tables and references