Seminar with Professor Jacob Öberg

The Normative Foundations for EU Criminal Justice- Powers, Limits and Justifications

Abstract

EU policy-making in criminal law is a matter of significant public concern for EU citizens and the Member States. The exercise of EU public powers in the fields of criminal law and law enforcement have tangible and adverse consequences for the liberties and well-being of individuals. Furthermore, EU cooperation in the area of criminal law touches upon core functions of statehood including ‘core state powers’ such as the safeguarding of internal security and law enforcement. This raises several questions regarding the rationale underpinning EU criminal policy and its legitimacy within the context of a multi-level polity. This book explores forensically the question whether a compelling normative justification for the EU to regulate criminal justice. It argues that the key justification for supranational action lies in demonstrating the existence of European public goods such as the internal market, the transnational protection of the environment and the provision of security for citizens and other important transnational interests deserving of protection by means of criminal law. It should also be shown that the Union is better placed (given its resources, expertise and incentives) than Member States to protect those interests. This offers a compelling case for EU action in criminal law to address or correct transnational market failures, collective action problems and other externalities arising from the economic and social interdependence between states in the EU.  

Biography

Dr Jacob Oberg is a Full Professor of European Union Law at the Law Department at the University of Southern Denmark and a Visiting Fellow at Lund University. He previously held positions as Associate Professor in EU law at Örebro University (where he acted as Deputy Head of Department) and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in law at Lund University. Jacob Öberg earned his PhD in European Law from the European University Institute in Florence (2014). His research interests lie primarily in EU constitutional law and EU criminal law, including; (1) multidisciplinary and contextual perspectives on EU law, (2) theories of EU integration (3) the federal dimension of EU law, and (4) the Union’s criminal policy and its development under the Lisbon Treaty.  He has published widely in these areas in journals such as European Law Review, European Constitutional Law Review, Yearbook of European Law, and European Law Journal. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Law Journal.  His forthcoming monograph ‘The Normative Foundations for EU Criminal Justice: Powers, Limits and Justifications’ will be published in the Modern Studies in European Law series at Hart Publishing  (during summer 2024). 

Registration

Please register here - no later than Friday June 7, 2024 at 12:00. Please note there is no more than 20 seats available.