Research
Here is an overview of the research projects carried out by the Criminal Law Group covering the following research lines:
- European criminal justice;
- Economic and financial criminal law;
- Information society and criminal justice;
- Comparative and international criminal justice.
| Appeal Proceedings in Criminal Matters: A European Comparative Study (APIC) |
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| Research Line(s) |
Comparative and international criminal justice, European criminal justice |
| Period |
2015-2018 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| Project Partner(s) |
Cambridge University; University of Danzig; University of Gerona; University of Ferrara; University of Leuven; University of Poitiers; University of Saarbrucken. |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Silvia Allegrezza |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Lisa Urban |
| Research Objectives |
Focusing on nine Member States, this research will analyse the appeal proceedings in criminal matters from a European and comparative perspective. Conference |
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Conference "Criminal Appeals in Europe" on 30 June 2016 |
| Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts of Exercise of Jurisdiction in Criminal Law (CJCL) |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Period |
2014-2017 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
Fonds Nationale de la Recherche – FNR Luxembourg, European Law Institute |
| Project Partner(s) |
European Law Institute, Max Planck Institute – Luxembourg, Eurojust |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Dr Angelo Marletta, Dr Michele Simonato (2014-2015), Dr Gavin Robinson (2016), Dr Sandra Schmitz (2017) |
| Research Objectives |
This project aims at elaborating a new legal framework for the prevention and the resolution of conflicts of criminal jurisdiction by adopting an innovative approach. |
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
- Second meeting of the working group on 12-13 March 2015 in Luxembourg; |
| The Enforcement Dimension of the European Banking Union Regulations (EUBAR) |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law, European criminal justice |
| Period |
2015-2018 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
Fonds Nationale de la Recherche – FNR Luxembourg |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Silvia Allegrezza |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Dr. Giulia Lasagni, Dr Ioannis Rodopoulos, Lisa Urban |
| Research Objectives |
This project intends to scrutinize the establishment of the European Banking Union in the perspective of its enforcement regime and the role criminal law should play in order to ensure an effective enforcement. |
| Project page |
|
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Kick-off meeting in June 2015. |
| Effective Defence Rights in Criminal Proceedings: a European and Comparative study on Judicial Remedies (JURECRIPRO) |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Comparative and international criminal justice, European criminal justice |
| Period |
September 2015-September 2017 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
European Commission, Justice programme, JUST/20I4/JACC/AG/PROC |
| Project Partner(s) |
University of Danzic; University of Gerona; University of Leuven (KU Leuven); University of Poitiers; University of Saarbrucken, University of Gerona |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Silvia Allegrezza |
| Project Collaborator |
Dr. Valentina Covolo, Lisa Urban |
| Research Objectives |
In the light of the EU Directives harmonizing defense rights in criminal proceedings, the study will provide a European and comparative analysis of remedies available to the defendant against breaches of procedural guarantees in six Member States. |
| Project page |
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| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Final Conference on 28-29 September 2017 |
| Liability of Company Directors in a Comparative EU Criminal Justice Context |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Period |
2017- 2018 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
European Commission - European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) - Hercule III Programme |
| Project Partner(s) |
|
| Project Leader |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Project Collaborator |
Dr Angelo Marletta |
| Research Objectives |
This project has a twofold objective: mapping the current framework on the punitive liability of heads of business in six selected EU Member States (DE, FI, FR, LU,NL,PL) and developing policy recommendations on the issue, with particular regard to the offences affecting the EU financial interest. |
| Project page |
|
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Kick Off Meeting of the project on 11-12 May 2017 (Luxembourg) |
| Judicial Control in the European Penal Area |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Period |
2007-2010 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Stefan Braum |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Dr Valentina Covolo |
| Research Objectives |
The project explored the issue of judicial review within the European penal area investigating the relationship between national (especially constitutional) courts and the EU Court of Justice, as well as between the latter institution and the European Court of Human Rights. It analysed to what extent the European judiciary ensures effective protection of individual rights affected by police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. |
| Publication(s) |
S. Braum – A. Weyembergh (eds.), Le contrôle juridictionnel dans l'espace pénal européen, Éditions de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2009 |
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Conference “Quel contrôle juridictionnel dans l'espace pénal européen ?”, 9 November 2007, Luxembourg |
| European Model Rules of Criminal Procedure for the Future European Public Prosecutor’s Office |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Period |
2009-2012 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
European Commission |
| Project Partner(s) |
Max Planck Institute, University of Birmingham, University of Bologna, University of Bonn, University of Brussels, University of Cambridge, University of Castilla-La Mancha, University of Catania, University of Cologne, University of Paris I, University of Utrecht, University of Warsaw, University of Zagreb, University of Zurich. |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Stanislaw Tosza, Marloes van Wijk |
| Research Objectives |
A group of European criminal law experts examined the public prosecution systems of the EU Member States in order to make proposals for a procedural framework for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Based on this study, which focused on procedural safeguards, evidential standards and the attribution of investigative powers, the researchers drafted EU model rules of criminal procedure. |
| Publication(s) |
- K. Ligeti (ed.), Toward a Prosecutor for the European Union: A Comparative Analysis, Vol. 1, Hart Publishing, 2012 |
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Conference “A Blueprint for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office? EU Model Rules of Criminal Procedure”, 13-15 June 2012, Luxembourg |
| Global Challenges in Economic and Financial Criminal Law: A Comparative Study of Europe and the US (CAEF) |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law, Comparative and international criminal justice |
| Period |
2013-2016 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Dr Vanessa Franssen (2014), Dr Anna Damaskou (2015) |
| Research Objectives |
This project aims at offering a representative picture of national economic and financial criminal law in the EU based on a comparative legal analysis. Moreover, the research will draw a number of common tendencies from that comparative analysis, which might reveal a certain cross-systemic autonomy of economic and financial criminal law. |
| Publication(s) |
Conference proceedings (forthcoming) |
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
- Conference “Challenges in the Field of Economic and Financial Crime in Europe”, 2-3 December 2014, Luxembourg; |
| Asset Recovery in the EU (ASREC) |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law |
| Period |
2014-2016 |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| Project Leader |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Project Collaborator(s) |
Dr Michele Simonato |
| Research Objectives |
This research will contribute to the analysis of obstacles to efficient cross-border asset recovery in the EU. In particular, the purpose of the project is to outline a European concept of asset recovery and to clarify to what extent the EU legal framework is insufficient. |
| Publication(s) |
Conference proceedings (forthcoming) |
| Event(s) linked to the Research Project |
Conference “Chasing Criminal Money in the EU: New Tools and Practices?”, 15-16 June 2015, Luxembourg |
| Conflicts of Jurisdiction and European Criminal Justice - Dr Angelo Marletta |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| About the Researcher |
Dr Angelo Marletta’s main research interests lay in the field of European criminal law. His previous doctoral studies focused on the European Arrest Warrant and the principle of proportionality. Angelo also cultivates an interdisciplinary interest in asylum and immigration law and its interplay with criminal law. |
| Research Projects & Networks |
Dr Marletta is currently working with Prof. Katalin Ligeti on the ongiong project Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts of Exercise of Jurisdiction in Criminal Law. Angelo is cooperating with the Escapes Network for critical studies on migration. |
| European Financial Criminal Law and Criminal Law Theory & Policy - Dr Ioannis Rodopoulos |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law, European criminal justice |
| About the Researcher |
Dr Ioannis Rodopoulos’ main research interests cover the field of criminal law and criminal policy from a European and comparative perspective. His doctoral studies, undertaken in France, dealt with the legal notion of organised crime in Europe, with a specific focus on the French and Greek examples. Ioannis also worked on a variety of other topics relating to criminal law, most often from an interdisciplinary approach. |
| Research Projects & Networks |
Dr Rodopoulos is currently working with Prof. Silvia Allegrezza on the project The Enforcement Dimension of the European Banking Union Regulations. Furthermore, he is an active member of the Centre of Criminal Law and Criminology (CDPC) at the University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense. |
| Effective Defense Rights in Criminal Proceedings: a European and Comparative Study on Judicial Remedies |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| About the Researcher |
Dr Valentina Covolo’s main research interests lay in the field of European criminal law and criminal procedure. Her previous doctoral studies focused on OLAF investigations and EU anti-fraud legislation. In the frame of her postdoctoral research, she further explores key issues related to European and national enforcement systems, in particular defence rights, judicial review and the interplay between administrative and criminal proceedings. |
| Research Projects & Networks |
Dr Covolo currently works with Prof. Silvia Allegrezza on the project “Effective Defense Rights in Criminal Proceedings: a European and Comparative Study on Judicial Remedies”. |
| Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts of Jurisdiction in Criminal Law - Dr Gavin Robinson |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Information society and criminal law, economic and financial criminal law |
| About the Researcher |
Dr Gavin Robinson’s research centres on EU criminal Law, IT law, data protection, emerging technologies and fundamental rights. Dr Robinson’s doctoral studies focused on the secondary use of commercial data for law enforcement purposes, and he has recently collaborated on research projects on conflicts of jurisdiction in criminal law (focusing on Cybercrime) and privacy in Big Data-enabled credit risk analysis of SMEs. |
| Research Projects & Networks |
|
| Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts of Jurisdiction in Criminal Law - Dr Sandra Schmitz |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Information society and criminal law |
| About the Researcher |
Dr Sandra Schmitz main research interests lay in the field of media law, IP law, IT law and Cybercrime. Her previous doctoral studies focused on Online Copyright Enforcement from a civil and criminal Law perspective. She is a fully-qualified German lawyer and registered as a Rechtsanwalt to the Koblenz bar. |
| Research Projects & Networks |
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| Reconciling Judicialisation of European Criminal Justice Area and Individual Fundamental Rights Protection: A Necessary Evolution of Legal Remedies - Ségolène Devillet |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
Fonds Nationale de la Recherche – FNR Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor |
Prof. Stefan Braum |
| Research Objectives |
This project explores the possibilities to guarantee direct access to court for individuals in order to challenge the legality of European Union legislation in the field of criminal law. |
| The Right to Silence of Corporations - Stijn Lamberigts |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| Project Partner(s) |
KU Leuven |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti, Prof. Frank Verbruggen (KU Leuven) |
| Research Objectives |
This research focuses on the question whether the right to silence should apply to corporations. The thesis deals with the question both from the European and the national perspective (England and Wales, the USA and Belgium). It provides a tentative normative framework for the right to silence of corporations. |
| Monitoring of Banking and Financial Transactions as an Investigative Measure in Criminal Law - Maxime Lassalle |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
Fonds Nationale de la Recherche – FNR Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Research Objectives |
This research aims at identifying all the elements that need to be taken into consideration in the elaboration of future legal frameworks for monitoring banking and financial transactions. |
| The Protection of Whistleblowers in National and European Legislation: Towards a New Regulatory Framework - Dimitrios Kafteranis |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
DTU REMS - University of Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Silvia Allegrezza |
| Research Objectives |
The aim of the research is to identify the existing legal situations of whistleblowers. It will be important to examine the European and national legal framework of protection. |
| Restrictions on the Right to Appeal in the US and the EU - Moritz Klein |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice, Comparative and International criminal justice |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
Fonds Nationale de la Recherche – FNR Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Research Objectives |
This thesis will propose a set of qualitative standards for the limitation and waiver of the right to appeal to ensure consistency in sentencing and protection against non-transparent out-of-court settlements. Methods of judicial review, such as the right to appeal a first instance court decision, allow for the correction of errors in lower court decisions in criminal matters. However, there is a growing trend in many legal systems in Europe and in the United States to limit, directly or indirectly, the possibilities of appeal, most notably by creating and relying on out-of-court settlement procedures. The proposed PhD research will analyse to what extent the possibility to limit or renounce the right to appeal may increase the risk of disrespecting fair trial rights of the parties. The hypothesis is that such limitations and waivers are predominantly based on an efficiency logic and that the far-reaching cost-benefit analysis may be detrimental to the underlying rationales of the right to appeal. |
| Fighting Art Laundering through Criminal Law - Anna Mosna |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice, Economic and financial criminal law |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Silvia Allegrezza |
| Research Objectives |
Definiton of the phenomenon of art laundering; analysis of the current legal framework applicable to this phenomenon: on the international and the EU level; mapping the gaps and proposal for amendments of the current legal framework, with specific attention to the role of criminal law, to counter laundering phenomena on the art market. |
| The Role of Criminal Law in the Enforcement of the EU’s External Border Policy - Chiara Ricci |
|
| Research Line(s) |
European criminal justice |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
University of Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Katalin Ligeti |
| Research Objectives |
This research aims at investigating the respective share of administrative and criminal law in the regulation of conducts related to the irregular crossing of EU external borders. |
| The Single Supervisory Mechanism: Towards a New Interaction Between European and National Legal Orders - Olivier Voordeckers |
|
| Research Line(s) |
Economic and financial criminal law |
| Funding Institution(s) and/or Body(ies) |
Fonds Nationale de la Recherche – FNR Luxembourg |
| PhD Supervisor(s) |
Prof. Silvia Allegrezza |
| Research Objectives |
Mapping the novelties of the power of the European Central Bank to apply national law within the Single Supervisory Mechanism. The PhD project scrutinizes the effects of the Single Supervisory Mechanism - more specifically the power of the European Central Bank to apply national law - on the interaction between the legal orders of the European Union and the Member States. |
