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Osterhaus, Anja
Osterhaus, Anja
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Abstract
"This report assesses the impact of statutes of limitations (SoL) on the prosecution of corruption offences across the European Union (EU). It is based on 27 studies which examined the nature of SoL in different national legal contexts in order to identify weaknesses and good practices. The research found that impunity for corruption-related offences is a matter of significant concern across the EU. The key problems identified were the lack of detection of corruption cases and the lack of human resources and expertise of law enforcement bodies and judicial staff. In the majority of European countries, lengthy proceedings, sometimes combined with a high level of bureaucracy and excessive requirements of proof, constitute serious obstacles to anti-corruption law enforcement. In such a context, statutes of limitations are often too short to allow the prosecution of crimes, particularly if there are not sufficient options to expand the limitation period in case of delays. In some European countries, particular aspects of the SoL regime constitute serious problems: in Greece, Italy and Portugal, proceedings can effectively be closed even if an offender has been found guilty in the first instance. In addition, the Greek system provides an extremely favourable SoL regime for certain persons, mainly politicians. In France, statutes of limitations for most corruption-related offences are too short to ensure effective prosecution and in Spain, they are very short for some corruption offences but can be considered adequate for others. In the majority of European jurisdictions, the SoL regime has some weaknesses or loopholes. International cooperation on criminal matters or immunity provisions which can cause significant delays are often not considered as reasons to prolong proceedings. Even though this has not led to the dismissal of a significant number of proceedings so far, it is a matter of concern, particularly in complex cases which may have a cross-border dimension requiring international cooperation."
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2010-11
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9783935711623
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With permission of the license/copyright holder