Transnational organised crime and the International Criminal Court developments and debates

Limitation to jurisdiction of International Criminal Court (ICC) - proposal to strengthen the universal criminalisation of transnational organised crimes by enabling them to be prosecuted through an international authority - debate on whether existing offences under the ICC Statute encompass certain transnational organised crimes - whether the Statute should be expanded to include crimes that have been recognised in international treaties.

Transnational organised crime and international law: The Palermo Convention

The last decade has witnessed a significant growth in transnational organised crime activities. It has also seen multiple efforts by the international community to come to terms with this rise of organised crime and to work towards an international instrument to combat the activities of criminal organisations. In December 2000, the United Nations opened for signature the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2001), also known as the Palermo Convention, a treaty that is supplemented by three protocols on trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, and trafficking in firearms and ammunition. The conclusion of the Convention marks the end of more than eight years of consultations on a universal instrument to criminalise and counteract transnational criminal organisations. This article illustrates the developments that led to the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and reflects on the amendments and concessions that have been made to earlier proposals during the elaboration process. This article highlights the strengths of the Convention in the areas of judicial cooperation and mutual legal assistance, and the shortcomings of the new Convention, in particular in failing to establish a universal, unequivocal definition of “transnational organized crime”.

Introduction – transnational organised crime and terrorism:different peas, same pod

The nexus between terrorism and organised crime consists in a strategic alliance between two non-state actors, able to exploit illegal markets, threaten the security of individuals, and influence policy-making on a global level. Recent Europol reports have pointed towards the importance of studying the links between organised crime and terrorist groups, and have underlined that the nature and extent of these connections have seldom been addressed from an academic perspective. Considering the degree of dangerousness that both organised crime and terrorism currently represent in the world, the collusion between these two phenomena is of urgent contemporary interest. Basing itself on geographical case-studies, this edited volume aims at contributing to the existing literature in three ways: by enriching the empirical knowledge on the nature of the crime-terror nexus and its evolution; by exploring the impact of the nexus within different economic, political and societal contexts; and by expanding on its theoretical conceptualization.

Organised crime and the law:a comparative analysis, by Liz Campbell

Book review

Organized crime legislation in the European Union. Harmonization and approximation of criminal law, national legislations and the EU framework decision on the fight against organised crime, by Francesco Calderoni

Book review: Heidelberg, Dordrecht, London, and New York, Springer, 2010, 189 pp., £93.55 (hardcover), ISBN 978-3-642-04330-7, e-ISBN 978-3-642-04331-4

Crime organisé et construction : un duo indissociable?

La collusion est une pratique anticoncurrentielle qui a pour but la coopération de personnes morales afin d’atteindre un but commun tel que le profit. Cette méthode se retrouve dans le milieu de la construction notamment par la rotation de contrat, par la fixation de prix ou le débalancement de bordereaux. Bien que la collusion dans la construction soit souvent associée au crime organisé, cette étude propose l’hypothèse d’un contrôle du marché par le crime organisant et non le crime organisé. Ainsi, l’industrie de la construction serait influencée par une organisation en mouvance et en développement constant pouvant s’organiser tout en organisant d’autres noyaux. En analysant le marché de l’industrie de la construction, cette étude a pu relever qu’il était possible à l’aide d’outils quantitatifs tels que l’analyse de classification d’identifier des irrégularités au sein du marché, au fil des années. Des entrevues passées auprès d’acteurs du domaine de la construction sont venues confirmer l’hypothèse d’un contrôle du marché par le crime organisant et non le crime organisé. L’analyse qualitative se penchait ainsi sur les motivations des acteurs à entreprendre des pratiques anticoncurrentielles et sur la compréhension de l’émergence de la collusion dans la construction. La discussion identifie les opportunités criminelles, de même que les problématiques survenant dans le milieu de la construction et pouvant influencer l’émergence de la collusion. Ces problématiques concernent les contributions aux partis politiques, le truquage des devis et bordereaux par les firmes de consultants, l’impunité des autorités, l’historicité des entrepreneurs, l’idéologie de marché et les problématiques liées au cautionnement. Enfin, des solutions adaptées à la réalité de l’industrie de la construction en tenant compte des facteurs de risque ont été identifiées.

Workplace crime and the informal economy in Ukraine: Employee and employer perspectives

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the criminal workplace activities of both employers and employees in Ukrainian enterprises. It challenges traditional definitions of corruption and suggests that the practices that can be observed fit into the category of organised crime because of the country's economic framework. The paper also explores how the practices are partially a legacy of Soviet economic processes. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 700 household surveys were completed in three cities, Kyiv (where 450 surveys were completed), Uzhgorod (150) and Kharkiv (100). To complement these, approximately 25 in-depth interviews were undertaken with workers in each region. Furthermore, ethnographic observations and “kitchen table” interviews also played an important role in the research. Although the research was oriented towards those working in informal economies, business owners (both formal and informal) were also interviewed. Findings – As well as revealing the endemic nature of corruption in Ukrainian workplaces and the high levels of informal activity undertaken by workers, the research found that many people wish for their workplace to become more regulated. Research limitations/implications – Further interviews could have been carried out with state officials and in more locations. The implications are multiple but mainly they demonstrate the difficulty that those charged with economic reform in Ukraine must face. Originality/value – It is one of the first studies to explore these issues in Ukraine using a variety of research methods.

An analysis of state crime: negotiating multiple insecurities around the U.S. Mexico Border

This research looks into forms of state crime taking place around the U.S.-Mexico border. On the Mexican side of the border violent corruption and criminal activities stemming from state actors complicity with drug trafficking organisations has produced widespread violence and human casualty while forcing many to cross the border legally or illegally in fear for their lives. Upon their arrival on the U.S. side of the border, these individuals are treated as criminal suspects. They are held in immigration detention facilities, interrogated and categorised as inadmissible ‘economic migrants’ or ‘drug offenders’ only to be denied asylum status and deported to dangerous and violent zones in Mexico. These individuals have been persecuted and victimised by the state during the 2007-2012 counter narcotic operations on one side of the border while criminalised and punished by a categorizing anti-immigration regime on the other side of the border. This thesis examines this border crisis as injurious actions against border residents have been executed by the states under legal and illegal formats in violation of criminal law and human rights conventions. The ethnographic research uses data to develop a nuanced understanding of individuals’ experiences of state victimisation on both sides of the border. In contributing to state crime scholarship it presents a multidimensional theoretical lens by using organised crime theoretical models and critical criminology concepts to explain the role of the state in producing multiple insecurities that exclude citizens and non-citizens through criminalisation processes.