Andreas Schloenhardt’s scientific contributions

This book explores a range of topics relating to the prosecution and trial of organised crime and the punishment, especially imprisonment, of members of organised criminal groups. Organised crime poses particular challenges to the criminal justice system. While much of the attention of policy-makers, legislators, law enforcement, and the media is on criminalisation and investigation, much less attention, including academic analysis, has been devoted to the unique problems posed by organised crime to criminal procedure and to the prison system. This book gives particular attention to the role and powers of prosecutors and the judiciary, measures relating to criminal proceedings, international cooperation, sentencing, and the situations in prisons. The book is intended to be a valuable guide for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of organised crime, international criminal justice, criminal procedures, and prisons.

The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime represents a major step forward in the internationally co-operative fight against transnational organized crime. This book offers a comprehensive, article by article legal commentary on the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two Protocols on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants. The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 2001 and came into force in 2003 with over 75 State Parties. The Convention defines offences and lays down rules as to the co-operation of State Parties in various procedures aimed at preventing and detecting those offences, such as mutual legal assistance, extradition, law-enforcement cooperation, technical assistance and training, and the seizure of assets obtained by their commission. This commentary analyses the nature of transnational organized crime, in particular the aspects which the Convention articles address, and examines how it has been implemented since it came into force. The commentary follows the article-by-article structure of the series, analysing each provision of the Convention and its three Protocols (relating to Smuggling of Migrants, Trafficking Persons, and Trafficking Firearms). It takes a global approach in its analysis of the interpretation, application, and impact of the Convention and its Protocols.

The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime represents a major step forward in the internationally co-operative fight against transnational organized crime. This book offers a comprehensive, article by article legal commentary on the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two Protocols on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants. The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 2001 and came into force in 2003 with over 75 State Parties. The Convention defines offences and lays down rules as to the co-operation of State Parties in various procedures aimed at preventing and detecting those offences, such as mutual legal assistance, extradition, law-enforcement cooperation, technical assistance and training, and the seizure of assets obtained by their commission. This commentary analyses the nature of transnational organized crime, in particular the aspects which the Convention articles address, and examines how it has been implemented since it came into force. The commentary follows the article-by-article structure of the series, analysing each provision of the Convention and its three Protocols (relating to Smuggling of Migrants, Trafficking Persons, and Trafficking Firearms). It takes a global approach in its analysis of the interpretation, application, and impact of the Convention and its Protocols.

The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime represents a major step forward in the internationally co-operative fight against transnational organized crime. This book offers a comprehensive, article by article legal commentary on the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two Protocols on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants. The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 2001 and came into force in 2003 with over 75 State Parties. The Convention defines offences and lays down rules as to the co-operation of State Parties in various procedures aimed at preventing and detecting those offences, such as mutual legal assistance, extradition, law-enforcement cooperation, technical assistance and training, and the seizure of assets obtained by their commission. This commentary analyses the nature of transnational organized crime, in particular the aspects which the Convention articles address, and examines how it has been implemented since it came into force. The commentary follows the article-by-article structure of the series, analysing each provision of the Convention and its three Protocols (relating to Smuggling of Migrants, Trafficking Persons, and Trafficking Firearms). It takes a global approach in its analysis of the interpretation, application, and impact of the Convention and its Protocols.

Debates about decriminalising and legalising certain narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances have gained much momentum in recent years as a growing number of jurisdictions are exploring the introduction of measures to permit, albeit in very controlled ways, the use of some narcotic drugs. Many argue that the so-called ‘war on drugs’ has failed to produce any meaningful successes and that new ways to prevent substance abuse need to be explored. Nevertheless, most jurisdictions continue to impose near complete bans on the production, manufacturing, trade, transport, supply, sale, and possession of illicit drugs. This volume presents a collection of academic papers that examine recent developments in relation to international and national laws and selected substances.

This article examines the scope, application, and implications of criminal offences relating to the containment of COVID-19 in Australia. Drawing in part on existing research concerning criminalisation of HIV transmission, the article highlights actual and potential discriminatory consequences of the criminal justice approach to COVID-19, as well as consequences for persons’ right to health. The article concludes that criminal offences relating to the spread of the virus must be precisely and narrowly circumscribed to be both fair and meaningful. Criminal prosecution and punishment can only be justified in a very small number of situations. Broad use of coercive and punitive powers, together with stigmatising rhetoric, may well be counterproductive to public health goals.

Wildlife trafficking threatens the existence of many plant and animal species and accelerates the destruction of wildlife, forests, and other natural resources. It contributes to environmental degradation, destroys unique natural habitats, and deprives many countries and their populations of scarce renewable resources. The more endangered a species becomes, the greater is the commercial value that is put on the remaining specimen, thereby increasing the incentive for further illegal activities. Preventing and supressing the illegal trade in wildlife, animal parts, and plants is presently not a priority in many countries. Despite the actual and potential scale and consequences, wildlife trafficking often remains overlooked and poorly understood. Wildlife and biodiversity related policies, laws, and their enforcement have, for the most part, not kept up with the changing levels and patterns of wildlife trafficking. Poorly developed legal frameworks, weak law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial practices have resulted in valuable wildlife and plant resources becoming threatened. The high demand for wildlife, animal parts, plants, and plant material around the world has resulted in criminal activities on a large scale. Considerably cheaper than legally sourced material, the illegal trade in fauna and flora offers opportunities to reap significant profits. Gaps in domestic and international control regimes, difficulties in identifying illegal commodities and secondary products, along with intricate trafficking routes make it difficult to effectively curtail the trade. Although several international and non-governmental organisations have launched initiatives aimed at bringing international attention to the problem of wildlife trafficking, political commitment and operational capacity to tackle this phenomenon are not commensurate to the scale of the problem. There is, to date, no universal framework to prevent and suppress this crime type and there is a lack of critical and credible expertise and scholarship on this phenomenon. As part of their joint teaching programme on transnational organised crime, the University of Queensland, the University of Vienna, and the University of Zurich examined the topic of wildlife trafficking in a year-long research course in 20182019. Students from the three universities researched selected topics and presented their findings in academic papers, some of which have been compiled in this volume. The chapters included in this v edited book address causes, characteristics, and actors of wildlife trafficking, analyse detection methods, and explore different international and national legal frameworks.