The Expansion of Criminal Law in Europe

• In Event: Macro Approaches to Criminal Policy and Punishment

Abstract

The increase in the use of criminal law is a characteristic of contemporary globalized (risk) societies. Criminal law and policy have long become a key element of electoral campaigns and the media have contributed to convey the idea that criminal law might represent the solution to most forms of injustice. Despite a stable decrease in violent crimes in almost all European countries, politics of fear and insecurity continue to govern the public debate in most of them. Starting from this scenario, this paper will retrace the expansion of criminal law in Europe in the past 30 years. By using concrete examples from different legal systems, it will focus on several aspects. First, it will present the instruments used to enlarge the boundaries of criminal law, from criminalization to punishment, through other, intermediate, steps. Second, it will examine the justifications used to legitimize this expansion, resting both on domestic and on international commitments. Third, it will explore the main areas of criminal law, which were affected by this expansion, with special regard to the fields of immigration, organized crime and gender-based violence. Finally, the paper will present some critical reflections regarding possible consequences of this expansion from a legal and a social perspective and some concerns around the effectiveness of an increase in the use of criminal law with regard to crime control.

Author

• Clara Rigoni, Université de Lausanne