Rethinking EU Law-making Policy on Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime Ariadna H. Ochnio.

London : Routledge, 2025

ISBN 9781032737669

270 stron.

The book provides a critical analysis of EU law-making policy on the confiscation of the proceeds of crime, using a minimalist restorative approach to justice focused on the rights of victims and communities, and more proactive roles for all participants in confiscation procedures. This book shows how the examined policy has been translated into the EU law standards adopted as its realisation, and whether the gaps identified in these standards are reflected in the domestic law of the comparator EU jurisdictions (Poland, Germany, and France). The post-conviction confiscation regime in England and Wales is also explored as an example of an alternative non-EU model of value-based confiscation. Considering the complex juridical nature of confiscation, which challenges the applicability of the civil-criminal dichotomy, this book recommends a two-fold approach when shaping EU confiscation mechanisms, focused on linking policy objectives with a restorative approach to justice, and making the appropriate choice of criminal or civil routes for confiscation. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in EU policy and law, criminal law, EU and national law on confiscation, EU criminal justice policy, and more broadly to European studies, criminology and international organisations.

Towards Grassroots Virtual Justice : the Role of ngo s and Investigative Journalism in ‘Open-Source Intelligence’ for the Purposes of Investigations into Public Corruption

European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 2025, t. 33, nr 4, s. 327–353.

Współautorstwo: Wycichowski-Kuchta, Gniewomir

This paper examines the implications of cyberspace on criminal investigations, particularly regarding corruption involving politically exposed persons (pep s). It explores the growing significance of open-source intelligence and the roles of civilian actors, non-governmental organisations (ngo s) and investigative journalists in achieving criminal justice purposes. The study points out the lack of a regulatory framework for civilian osint within the European legal environment: the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the EU e-evidence package. The authors argue that this evolving landscape necessitates the reevaluation of classic criminal investigations, advocating for public-private partnerships and outsourcing investigative tasks to meet the challenges and opportunities arising from the openness of cyberspace and exploit the potential of e-evidence.

Zaburzona tożsamość jurydyczna przepadku w polskim systemie prawa na przykładzie idealnego zbiegu czynów karalnych z art. 8 § 1 k.k.s. : glosa do wyroku Sądu Apelacyjnego w Katowicach – Wydział Karny z dnia 23 marca 2018 r., II AKa 387/17

Orzecznictwo Sądów Polskich 2025, nr 6, s. 70-94.

In this ruling, the Court of Appeal in Katowice aptly held that there should be no double forfeitures of the same financial benefit (under Article 45, § 1 of the Penal Code and Article 33, § 1 of the Fiscal Penal Code) or their execution when adopting the perfect concurrence of criminal acts under Article 8, § 1 of the Fiscal Penal Code. The difficulties in adjudicating forfeiture in the case of the perfect concurrence of criminal acts arise from the differentiated approach of the lawmaker to the legal nature of forfeiture depending on whether it is imposed for an offence as the legal measure sui generis under the provisions of the Penal Code or for a fiscal offence as a penal measure under the provisions of the Fiscal Penal Code. The conclusion presented in this ruling is the result of the court applying the purposive interpretation because there is currently no mechanism for reducing the provisions on forfeiture which can be an independent legal measure and penal measure, depending on the legal basis of its adjudication.

Rozszerzona prejudycjalność wyroku karnego z perspektywy możliwych naruszeń prawa do sądu

Hominum causa omne ius constitutum sit : księga jubileuszowa Profesora Piotra Hofmańskiego / redakcja naukowa Paweł Czarnecki, Sonia Głogowska, Adam Górski, Andrzej Sakowicz, Andrzej Światłowski. Warszawa : Wolters Kluwer, 2024, s. 219-228.

Recent developments in EU anti-corruption strategy : the missing element of the return of corrupt assets to “victim countries”

Journal of Money Laundering Control 2024, t. 27, nr 7, s. 1-12.

Purpose - Recent developments in the EU’s anti-corruption strategy have brought the EU closer to meeting the UNCAC’s objectives, i.e. the Proposal for a Directive on combating corruption (2023) and the Proposal for a Directive on Asset Recovery and Confiscation (2022). This paper aims to discuss these developments from the perspective of the UNCAC, to identify missing elements in the EU’s asset recovery mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach - Critical approach towards EU anti-corruption policy (discussing the problems and solutions). Review of EU developments in asset recovery law. Findings - There is a political will on the part of the EU to fight corruption through the rules enshrined in the UNCAC. However, improving EU law by introducing a new type of confiscation of unexplained wealth and criminalising illicit enrichment, without establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to the countries of origin, cannot be seen as sufficient action to achieve the UNCAC’s objectives. In modelling mechanisms of the return of assets, the EU should search for solutions to overcome the difficulties resulting from the ordre public clause remaining a significant factor conditioning mutual legal assistance. Originality/value - This paper discusses the possible input of the EU, as a non-State Party to the UNCAC, to advance implementing the UNCAC solutions on asset recovery by establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to countries of origin.