RICERCA ITALIANA     

Testimonial evidence in a European area of freedom, security and justice: mutual recognition and harmonization scenarios

Università degli Studi di Bologna

Abstract

The research has the goal to draft a proposal of harmonization between member states of the rules on testimonial evidence. The growth of transnational forms of criminality, caused by the abolition of national borders between member states, imposes the states to harmonize their procedural disciplines. Such harmonization is necessary to give effective impulse to the development of the principle of mutual recognition of criminal evidence which would represent a great instrument in the fight against transnational crime.
The choice of the field to harmonize has fallen on testimonial evidence because of its strategic importance within the criminal trial.
The research intends to point out which part of the discipline of testimony would need harmonization and what content such harmonization could have. Such aim needs a deep and careful preparatory study.
Community institutions strongly ask for the implementation of harmonization: it is testified by different drafts adopted in the last five years; they target, on one hand, to introduce a stronger protection of financial interests of the EU, and on the other hand to give effectiveness to the struggle against organised transnational crime. The Constitution recently approved shows the primary role of a deeper harmonization of procedural rules as a starting point for the creation of a freedom, security and justice area.
Concerning methodology to be followed, the research will be composed by the following >>>

Principal Investigator

Giulio ILLUMINATI Università degli Studi di BOLOGNA

Research Objectives

The research has the goal to draft a proposal of harmonization between member states of the rules on testimonial evidence. This analysis will be composed by the following sections: 1) an outline of European rules in force and of guarantees provided by the ECHR 2) a concise analysis of different solutions offered by national legislation 3) a draft containing proposal of harmonization.
The research goal will follow the tradition of community green papers. The study would represent a starting point for a regional debate on minimum standard rules concerning testimonial evidence –particular attention will be dedicated to guarantees – but also a concrete proposal of harmonization directed to community institutions (European Commission) and national authorities.

Timescale

24 months

National and international background

The recent approval of the European Constitution is another proof of the irreversible process of foundation of a European Union with full political competence. This implies that criminal justice policies will also be more and more included within the Union's decisions and it is even possible to start imagining a european criminal trial. However, the scenario of a criminal trial of the Union still is far to be concrete. But, many other steps have already been taken in developing the Union's competences and powers within the European judicial cooperation. Such development was necessary for better facing criminality. After all, the freedom of european citizens to move within the Union without any border implies the logical consequence that also investigating criminal authorities should be able to move over any national barrier.
The Union has lately give birth to many different institutions (Olaf, Europol, Eurojust) and has created specific instruments (magistrates links , European judicial network, common investigative teams) so to increase and improve judicial cooperations between authorities competent for investigating on dangerous crimes.
In particular, the Tampere European Council of 1999 has set the principle of mutual recognition. Such principle is becoming more and more popular within the Union and is today conceived as a cornerstone of judicial collaboration.
The reciprocal admission of evidence among the EU States is explicitly included by the EU >>>