TREATY OF LISBON AND THE CRIMINAL LAW

With the entrance into force of theTreaty of Lisbon, at 1st December 2009, the criminallaw has passed from the exclusively national sphereof the Member States under the patronage of theEuropean Union. According to the Treaty, theEuropean Parliament and the Council now have thepossibility to establish minimum norms regarding thedefinition of offences and sanctions in criminal areaswhich are extremely serious and affect a number ofMember States. The areas in which the EU canestablish specific norms are limited, but nevertheless,the Treaty grants the Council the possibility to adopta decision in unanimity, after the approval of theEuropean Parliament, in the meaning of extendingthe application of such regulations. This article aimsto analyze this new situation and to identify some ofthe legal consequences in the area of criminal law ofthis regulation.