EU: The law and organised crime
01 March 1995
A report on international organised crime (colloquially referred to as IOC) adopted by the Council of Justice and Home Affairs in December makes a number of proposals which while geared to dealing with "organised crime" raise questions as to their legal propriety or controls.
The report, prepared for the K4 Committee by the Steering Group on Judicial Cooperation says the legal background for the initiatives being taken in this field are based on EU member states ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime 1990. A survey by GAFI (Groupe d'Action Financière Internationale) last year showed that only three EU states had ratified the Convention (the UK, Netherlands and Italy). Two EU states have restricted the scope to drugs excluding other forms of "organised crime". The report opposes this limitation, "all the proceeds of international organised crime should be covered since only such a definition of the crime would facilitate effective judicial cooperation". There is however not only no agreed definition of what constitutes an "organised crime" but it is not an offence per se in most member states.
The intention to try and introduce "common charges throughout the EU with regard to international organised crime" has proved unworkable so the Steering Group is working to 1) "identify any gaps" in what constitutes "offences by criminal or similar organisations"; 2) "establishing rules on conspiracy, attempted crime and preparatory acts"; 3) "the possibility of adopting measures which allow proceeds derived from offences to be confiscated whether or not their perpetrators had been convicted"; 4) it is proposed that one EU state may request another EU state to carry out "telecommunications surveillance" if "similar measures could be taken" in the requesting country - this leaves it to police officers to make assumptions that permission would be given by a court or a government Minister if it had been requested.
Interim report on cooperation in the campaign against international organised crime, K4 Committee, Restricted, JUSTPEN 89, ref: 10829/94, dated 15.11.94.