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Organized Crime

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International Conflict and Security Law
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Abstract

Organized crime is a complex construct. Although there is now much agreement that it poses a threat to conflict and security, its manifestations are diverse and wide-ranging. The purpose of this chapter is to point out the historic origins of the concept and show how during the past two decades it was adapted to a variety of societal conditions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Comment by Academic Advisors, available at <https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/crime-in-age-of-technology---europol's-serious-and-organized-crime-threat-assessment-2017>.

  2. 2.

    For more on the US background, see Woodiwiss 2003.

  3. 3.

    On the history of organized crime in Europe, see the contributions in Fijnaut and Paoli 2004, at 21–238.

  4. 4.

    Finckenauer and Waring 1998.

  5. 5.

    Although officially launched in 1999, Europol dates back to the Europol Drugs Unit (EDU) that was created in 1993.

  6. 6.

    See Allum et al. 2010; Allum and Gilmore 2011; Beare 2003, 2013; Paoli 2014; Reichel and Albanese 2014; Sheptycki 2014; Mitsilegas et al. 2019.

  7. 7.

    Interpol 2017.

  8. 8.

    Preamble UN Anti-Drug Convention.

  9. 9.

    Article 3(1) (a) (v) UN Anti-Drug Convention.

  10. 10.

    Article 3(1) (c) (iv) UN Anti-Drug Convention.

  11. 11.

    Article 3(5) (a) and (b) UN Anti-Drug Convention.

  12. 12.

    <https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12&chapter=18&clang=_en>. For a commentary, see McClean 2007.

  13. 13.

    Article 2 lit. (a), (b) and (c) UNTOC.

  14. 14.

    The debate on what constitutes organized crime in a proper criminological understanding is probably never-ending.

  15. 15.

    Article 5(1) (a) UNTOC.

  16. 16.

    Article 5(1) (b) UNTOC.

  17. 17.

    See the Legislative Guide for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime at para 71, available at <https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/Legislative_Guide_2017/Legislative_Guide_E.pdf>.

  18. 18.

    Resolution 9/1, see <https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/intro/revew-mechanism-untoc.html>.

  19. 19.

    Official Journal C 251 of 15 August 1997, pp. 1–16.

  20. 20.

    Joint Action of 21 December 1998 adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on making it a criminal offence to participate in a criminal organization in the Member States of the European Union. Official Journal L 351 of 29 December 1998, p. 1–3.

  21. 21.

    Later in 2011, Council of Europe Recommendation Rec(2001)11 concerning guiding principles on the fight against organized crime reiterated the UNTOC approach for Council of Europe Member States. See <https://rm.coe.int/16804c0f57>.

  22. 22.

    Para 3 Preamble, Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA of 24 October 2008 “On the Fight against Organized Crime”. Official Journal L 300 of 11 November 2008, p. 42–45. See also the critical comments by Calderoni 2008.

  23. 23.

    Para 4 Preamble, ibid.

  24. 24.

    DiNicola et al. 2015.

  25. 25.

    Krüßmann 2009, pp. 410–412.

  26. 26.

    Krüßmann 2020.

  27. 27.

    See <https://www.bka.de/DE/AktuelleInformationen/StatistikenLagebilder/Lagebilder/OrganisierteKriminalitaet/organisiertekriminalitaet_node.html>.

  28. 28.

    See <https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/serious-and-organized-crime-threat-assessment>.

  29. 29.

    See <https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organized-crime-threat-assessment>.

  30. 30.

    <https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/crime-in-age-of-technology-–-europol’s-serious-and-organized-crime-threat-assessment-2017>.

  31. 31.

    SOCTA 2017, 13.

  32. 32.

    <https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/Organized-crime>.

  33. 33.

    <https://rm.coe.int/090000168078b519>.

  34. 34.

    For 2000, see <https://www.coe.int/t/dg1/legalcooperation/economiccrime/organizedcrime/Report2000E.pdf>, for 2001, see <https://www.coe.int/t/dg1/legalcooperation/economiccrime/organizedcrime/Report2001E.pdf>.

  35. 35.

    <https://edoc.coe.int/en/organized-crime/6837-white-paper-on-transnational-organized-crime.html>.

  36. 36.

    <https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/tocta-2010.html>.

  37. 37.

    <https://www.icij.org/>.

  38. 38.

    <https://www.bellingcat.com/>.

  39. 39.

    <https://www.occrp.org/en>.

  40. 40.

    Carrapiço 2011, p. 19; UNODC 2010, 221.

  41. 41.

    See Natarajan 2010 and Mitsilegas et al. 2015.

  42. 42.

    Buzan et al. 1998.

  43. 43.

    Tilly 1997a, b, p. 167.

  44. 44.

    Olson 1993.

  45. 45.

    See the overview by Karstedt 2014 with many references.

  46. 46.

    Based on the EU Commission‘s Report “Investor Citizenship and Residence Schemes in the European Union” of 23 January 2019 [COM(2019) 12 final], a Group of Member State Experts on Investor Citizenship and Residence Schemes was created that is investigating the issue in the course of the year 2019. For more information, see <https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/report-commission-european-parliament-council-european-economic-and-social-committee-and-committee-regions-investor-citizenship-and-residence-schemes-european-union_en>.

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Kruessmann, T. (2022). Organized Crime. In: Sayapin, S., Atadjanov, R., Kadam, U., Kemp, G., Zambrana-Tévar, N., Quénivet, N. (eds) International Conflict and Security Law. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-515-7_54

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