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Issue 4 - February 2012


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Introduction to the special issue on European law and the most recent developments
by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber and Dr. Els De Busser
GUEST EDITORS of "the art of crime" issue 4
 
Dear Readers,
We are honored to be guest editors of this special edition of “The Art of Crime” dedicated to European criminal law and the most recent developments in this area, including both the Council of Europe and the EU. Currently, the EU is experiencing challenging times in which its strength as a union as well as its flexibility to adapt to new situations is being tested. Originally founded by six Member States, the EU today has grown to be a cooperative structure of 27 Member States that not only join forces on the economic and financial levels but also in setting up a common foreign and security policy as well as an area of freedom, security and justice. In 2011, new events prompted several EU Member States to question two of the Union’s biggest achievements: the common currency of the Euro, on the one hand, and the so-called Schengen area, in which citizens enjoy free travel thanks to the abolishment of internal border controls, on the other.

The financial crisis has hit governments, financial institutions, companies and citizens worldwide. In the EU, this has led to a serious crisis. These developments caused fundamental questions to surface regarding the sustainability of the Eurocurrency, the “bailing out” of indebted countries and even the ability of the EU institutions to deal with this crisis in a justifiable manner and eventually restore faith in its original vision of an economic community and an internal market. Trust is a meaningful key word in the current state of the EU. The situation concerns the lack of trust on the part of banks and investors in a country’s ability to pay back a loan; the lack of trust on the part of companies to invest in countries that find themselves in financial turmoil and the lack of trust on the part of citizens in their national governments. The latter are expected to effectively combat the repercussions of the crisis as felt by households in terms of job insecurity and soaring prices for consumer goods.

Trust is also the key word when focusing on the engagement of the 27 Member States in judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters. Creating a genuine area of freedom, security and justice has been one of the objectives of the EU since the Treaty of Amsterdam. Harmonization and approximation of criminal laws of the Member States were built on the principle of mutual recognition introduced by the same Treaty. Even though this working method was meant to be applied towards the harmonization of substantive criminal law, it was also used to harmonize procedural criminal law. A basic level of mutual trust was the prerequisite for the efficient functioning of legal instruments such as the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant that abolished the traditional extradition procedures for a number of criminal offences. Member States’ authorities thus need to trust each other when issuing arrest warrants and prosecuting as well as sentencing criminal offenders. With new mutual recognition instruments having been introduced in the past few years (e.g. mutual recognition of financial penalties, confiscation orders, custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty, etc.) and others still in the decision-making process (e.g. European Protection Order), one would expect mutual trust to be growing, especially since the highly anticipated 2009 Treaty of Lisbon builds further upon the principle of mutual recognition. However, practice has proven that this mutual trust is often lacking. A fortiori, minimum standards have been laid down in order to iron out differences between national criminal justice systems that can have significant consequences for persons who are the suspect, the accused or the victim in criminal proceedings. The 2009 Roadmap on procedural rights has so far resulted in the adoption of a Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings and a proposed Directive that will ensure defendants’ right to information in criminal proceedings wherever they are in the EU. In addition, minimum standards regarding the rights of victims in criminal proceedings are being negotiated. However, this list of new and future measures alone does not ensure mutual trust between the Member States.

In order to keep this area of freedom, security and justice intact, Member States also need to be able to maintain their trust in times of crisis. When several Member States belonging to the Schengen zone were confronted with a large influx of Arab immigrants fleeing the violence that erupted during the 2011 Arab Spring, the idea of reinstalling internal border controls was put on the table. Due to its geographical location, Italy was the country of entry for many who then travelled on to France. At the same time, Denmark decided to reinstall border controls for internal political reasons. These events caused the European Commission to rethink its mechanisms for dealing with pressure at the external borders of the Schengen zone. The 1985 Schengen Agreement that was fully integrated into the EU is therefore undergoing revision at present. In addition, two Member States that applied to enter the Schengen zone, Bulgaria and Romania, have been denied accession after a veto was issued by Finland and the Netherlands. Their veto was motivated by the fear that Bulgaria and Romania may not have made sufficient efforts to improve their fight against corruption and organized crime. In the meantime, Finland has changed its course in favor of a two-phase accession.

Recent developments with regard to the financial crisis and the Schengen zone demonstrate that building full mutual trust between the EU Member States is a difficult and complicated endeavor. The contributions in this issue of The Art of Crime focus on specific elements of this effort, especially in the field of criminal justice. The Lisbon Treaty has introduced several new features that support building this mutual trust by expanding the areas in which harmonization measures can be adopted and by facilitating the mechanism for those Member States wishing to take harmonization even further by means of an enhanced cooperation. These new features are discussed by Ester Herlin-Karnell in the article “The Lisbon Treaty: A Critical Analysis of its Impact on EU Criminal Law.” Mutual recognition and harmonization go hand in hand. Nevertheless, the principle of mutual recognition itself is also not unconditionally applied by the Member States. The grounds for refusal, whether optional or mandatory, that are defined in mutual recognition instruments play an important role for Member States in maintaining as much of their sovereignty as possible with respect to their criminal justice systems. In this issue of The Art of Crime, Annika Suominen focuses on these legal instruments, more particularly the manner in which they are implemented by the Member States, in her article on “Different Implementations of Mutual Recognition Framework Decisions.”

Mutual trust in cooperation in criminal matters with third states has yet a different dimension, but it is no less important. The counter-terrorism cooperation – more specifically the exchange of information in criminal matters – between the EU and the US since 2001 has been laid down in a range of agreements involving Europol, Eurojust and the EU as an entity. The EU-US relations in this field are analyzed by Valsamis Mitsilegas in his contribution “Transatlantic Counter-Terrorism Cooperation After Lisbon.” The latest agreements with the US authorities have focused on personal data, including financial transfer data and passenger name record data. In this transatlantic alliance, political themes and foreign relations shape the entire concept of the cooperation, giving it a very unique dynamic. Els De Busser deals with this matter in the article “Transatlantic Adequacy and a Certain Degree of Perplexity.”
 
Finally, the evolution of technology and information processing in the last several decades has brought about a new range of legal instruments protecting the rights of persons against possible abuses. A special area of protection is that of minors. The Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse focuses inter alia on the question of online sex-related criminality and victimization. Emmanouil Billis and Panagiotis Gkaniatsos cover these aspects in their contribution “Minors as Victims in the Age of Information and Communication Technologies.”

All these aspects of recent European criminal policy will continue to be essential for the future of judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters. With this issue of The Art of Crime, based on key articles of the journal eucrim, we hope to offer you an overview of these thought-provoking policy developments.
 
 
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Minors as Victims in the Age of Information and Communication Technologies:
The Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and its Implementation in Greece*
 
by Emmanouil Billis, LL.M.
Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg, Attorney at law, and PhD candidate at the University of Freiburg, Germany (Research grant from Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation)
e.billis@mpicc.de

Panagiotis Gkaniatsos, LL.M.1
Attorney at law, and PhD candidate at the University of Göttingen, Germany
pgkaniatsos@gmail.com
 
I. Introduction 
 
Children belong, mainly due to their mental immaturity and physical vulnerability, to the group of people more likely to become victims of criminal abuse acts.2  The inability of minors to efficiently defend themselves against or stay safe from threats as well as the massive (bodily or psychological) harm risks resulting from criminal behaviour demand in today’s globalized society the establishment of an effective legal net of national and international measures concerning especially the protection against such damaging conduct as sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.This kind of protection is conceivable in two ways: by preventing and combating sexual-related crimes against children as well as by providing assistance to and protecting the victims of such behaviour from further victimization. 
 
Taking into account the need for special measures because of the inherent gravity of sexual offences against children and the consequences resulting therefrom, the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201, hereinafter: the Convention) sets a comprehensive legal framework which categorizes various sexual abuse forms as criminal offences and comprises preventive measures, victim protection measures and international cooperation rules. More specifically, the Convention obliges the Signatory Parties to take a minimum of measures responding to the main purposes set in Article 1, the prevention and combat of child sexual exploitation and abuse, the protection of the rights of child victims and the promotion of national and international cooperation in both fields. The Convention was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 12 July 2007, opened for signature on 25 October 2007 in Lanzarote, Spain, and entered into force on 1 July 2010. Of the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe, 43 have already signed, but until October 2011 only 15 ratified the Convention.5
The establishment of the Convention was preceded by other international legal instruments which regulate, though fragmentarily, different aspects regarding the protection of minors against behaviour linked to exploitation and abuse acts. To be mentioned are especially the Convention on Cybercrime (2001, ETS No. 185), the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2005, CETS No. 197), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and its Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (2000), as well as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000). Finally, in terms of European Union (EU) legislation, the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (OJ L 101/1, 15.04.2011), as well as the Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (2004/68/JHA), which is on the way to be replaced very soon by an EU Directive6 , particularly stand out.   
Through the provisions of the Convention examined herewith, an additional effort from the side of the Council of Europe is made to cover the deficits in efficiency in the national legislations of the State Parties in regard to the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse and to the assistance of victims. This article examines the central norms of the Convention by providing briefly, due to its limited size, a systematic overview of its protection and assistance mechanisms (below II). It then focuses on those principles and rules reflecting the will of the Member States to combat the use of the modern information and communication technologies for criminal purposes and on the need to enhance the protection of (potential) victims of sexual-related crime through information and technology means (below III). The article closes with a reference to the respective legal basis in Greece before and after the implementation of the Convention and its efficiency in addressing the above issues (below IV).
 
 
II. Overview of the Convention’s protective system
 
The Convention’s main goal is to provide the national law of the State Parties with a sufficient legal basis for the effective protection of minors and child victims against sexual exploitation and abuse or their results. In this context, “child” refers to any person under the age of 18 years and “victim” to any child subject to sexual exploitation or abuse.8  However, for (consensual) sexual activities between a minor and an adult to be treated as the criminal offence of sexual abuse, the minor has to be below the age set by the national law as the legal age for sexual activities.
In general, the exact content of “sexual exploitation and sexual abuse” is to be determined by the domestic law10 ; in any case, the Parties should ensure that the intentional behaviour and the minimum standards described in Arts. 18-23 constitute nationally recognized offences. The core substantive criminal law of the Convention focuses on various forms of sexual abuse and corruption of children, on sexual-related offences concerning child prostitution, child pornography and the participation of a child in pornographic performances, and on the sui generis offence of solicitation of children for sexual purposes through information and communication technologies.11  In the same context, guidelines regarding the establishment of effective and proportionate sanctions, of aggravating circumstances and of the (criminal, civil or administrative) liability of a legal person for sexual offences committed for its benefit by a natural person are also included in the text of the Convention.12  Basic aim of these provisions is the harmonization of the domestic law of the states.13 
Additionally, in the interest of combating behaviour related to sexual exploitation and abuse of children through the means of substantive criminal law, the Convention includes provisions on law of application (such as the territoriality, nationality and aut dedere aut judicare principles and the abolition of the dual criminality rule), regulating in that respect the cases in which a State Party should have jurisdiction over offences established in accordance to the Convention. These are primarily meant to relate to the efforts made for combating the so-called “sex tourism”.14
Turning to the question of the necessary preventive and protective measures to be taken in the national legislations, the Convention provides for the recruitment, training and awareness-raising of persons working in contact with children, the sexual education for children, the establishment of preventive intervention programmes and general public information measures, the participation of the private sector, the media and civil society in preventive policies, the designation of independent institutions, and the coordination between the authorities competent for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child (Arts. 5-10). As regards the protection and support of child victims, the Convention relies on the promotion of measures such as the setting up of “helplines”, the physical and psycho-social recovery assistance of victims and the cooperation of each state with non-governmental and other organizations engaging in the assistance to victims (Arts. 11-14).
Finally, in relation to the status of minors as sex victims, the procedural principles and rules prescribed in Arts. 30-36 of the Convention focus on the respect of the interests and rights of the child, on the exclusion of further victimization possibilities and on the effectiveness of the investigations in sexual abuse cases. These norms include provisions about the information, legal aid and participation rights of child victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings, their protection from public dissemination, intimidation, retaliation and repeat victimization, the special training of the investigative authorities, and the protective and secure (through means of technology) way the interviews and in court examinations of child victims should take place. Before further addressing the special relation between sexual offences, child victims and modern technology tools, it should already be noted that, notwithstanding the obvious sensitive or burdensome nature of investigations and procedures involving minors as victims, in criminal proceedings all defence and fair trial rights as provided by national and international law must be guaranteed in the same extend as the victim’s rights.15
 
III. Sexual-related crimes and child victims in the society of technology
 
a. Online victimization
 
It is a common assumption that the modern information and communication technologies, like the Internet, can provide potential perpetrators of crimes related to child sexual abuse and exploitation or even criminal organizations with the applicable (anonymous and speedy) tools for facilitating their criminal activities.16  The hazards arising especially from “computer-related crime and cybercrime”17  are accordingly not to be left out of the legislator’s care. On the other hand, the use of technology itself could be helpful for the prevention or combat of sexual-related crimes and for the protection and assistance of child victims.
The Convention deals with the question of online sexual-related criminality and victimization mainly at the level of the substantive criminal law provisions which should become part of the national law of all State Parties.18  Art. 20(1f) classifies, for the first time, the intentional conduct, when committed without right, of knowingly obtaining access, through information and communication technologies, to child pornography, as a crime.19  The Parties are expected to criminalize the conduct of “obtaining access”, i.e. the sole (intentional) viewing of child images online by (knowingly, not inadvertently) accessing child pornography sites without downloading any material with sexual content.20  This provision shall ensure the punishment of behaviour which technically is not part of the chain from the production to the possession of pornographic material.21  This chain includes the acts of making child pornography available online, transmitting, procuring by downloading or possessing in a computer system of child pornography and is separately covered by the offences listed in Art. 20(1a-1e). 
Furthermore, the Convention intends to reinforce the combat against direct forms of victimization caused by the use of online services by focusing on the criminalization of solicitation through information and communication technologies (such as online chat rooms) for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities with a child under legal age or for producing child pornography (Art. 23). Necessary precondition thereof is that the intentional proposal of an adult to meet a child below the legal age for sexual engagements has been followed by material acts (e.g. the arrival of the perpetrator at the meeting place) leading to an actual meeting.22 
Overall, the Council of Europe equips through the aforementioned substantive criminal law provisions the protective system of the Convention with adequate measures against the misuse of the Internet and other modern technologies. However, it must be noted  that, with respect to the question of effectively combating sexual-related cyber-offences, the Convention does not include any specific provisions on the definition of the “place of the crime”, although – due exactly to the technically complex and global nature of trans-border crime committed through virtual networks – this directly relates to issues of aiding or abetting and attempt (Art. 24) as well as to issues of international cooperation, jurisdiction and the law of application.23
 
 
b. Technology and the fight against sex crime
 
It can be observed that the Convention addresses the possibilities of the use of modern technology in the fight against sexual-related crimes and the protection of child victims in various ways24 ; hence, preventive measures to be taken are the promotion of the participation of the information and communication technology sector (e.g. Internet service providers, mobile phone network operators and search engines) in preventive programmes as well as the participation of the media sector in actions of informative nature (Art. 9(2-3)). The states shall further set up mechanisms for data collection or focal points for the purpose of observing and evaluating the phenomenon of sexual exploitation and the abuse of children (Art. 10(2b)). 
Moreover, with respect to the necessity of assisting child victims of sex crimes, Art. 13 promotes the establishment of information services, such as telephone or Internet “helplines”. Finally, with reference to child victim rights, the Convention includes procedural provisions concerning the function of special units responsible for the identification of victims by lawfully analysing child pornography material, as well as rules for the electronic recordings of interviews for evidentiary purposes and the hearing of child victim during court proceedings from distance and through the use of appropriate communication technologies.25
Especially regarding the issue of evidence given by a victim of sexual abuse, it has to be noted that the State Parties shall be rather reluctant when applying norms which permit the physical absence of the child during the court proceedings. Protective measures such as securing the absence or even preserving the anonymity of the victim are justified by the heavy impact the proceedings or a new confrontation with the perpetrator could have on the private life, the psycho-social development and the health of the child.26  However, they contradict the right of the defence for a fair and adversarial trial as prescribed in Art. 6 (1, 3d) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and implemented by the European Court of Human Rights. This right, although not absolute, is sufficiently guaranteed only if the person charged with a sexual offence or his defence lawyer is able to examine the main prosecution witness (i.e. to challenge and question the merits of the testimony as well as the personal credibility of the witness) at least once at any point during the criminal process. If such an adequate and proper opportunity to confrontation is not given to the defence at all, the conviction is not allowed to be based either solely or to a decisive extent on the testimony of a non-confronted child victim.27  Consequently, by considering the criminal proceedings as a whole, it can be argued that the use of the modern technologies (such as recordings of preliminary interviews on the presence of at least the defence lawyer or the use of two-way closed circuit television) could result in equally taking into account the rights of both victim and defendant while achieving a more fair evidentiary outcome. The necessity of such measures will become apparent in the analysis of fair trial deficits in the Greek legal system.
 
 
IV. Implementation of the Convention in Greece

The 19th Chapter of the Greek Penal Code (hereinafter: PC), entitled “Crimes against the sexual freedom and crimes against the financial exploitation of sexual life” 28, includes the criminal law provisions for the protection of minors against sexual abuse and exploitation. Over the last decade, the chapter has undergone a series of radical changes, adapting to the modern perceptions on sexual self-determination, freedom and dignity. This modernization comprises two main characteristics based on the recent legislative activity at international and European level29  regarding the rights and the stand of crime victims in the proceedings as well as on the developments of the information and communication technologies and the risks inherent in their use. On the one hand, emphasis is given to the child as a potential victim of sex crimes, whereas childhood constitutes a separate legal interest additionally protected by the provisions of the aforementioned chapter of the Penal Code.30  On the other hand, the recent criminalization trends resulted in the establishment of new sexual (related) offences connected particularly to the use of online technologies or in the increase of sanctions for traditional sex crimes.
In this context, the Council of Europe Convention has played a major role in the anti-victimization policies of the Greek State. The Convention was signed by Greece on 25 October 2007, ratified by Law 3727/200831  and entered into force on 1 July 2010, becoming an integral part of the domestic law with supra-statutory force in accordance to Art. 28(1) of the Greek Constitution. The implementation of the Convention into the Greek Legal Order resulted in a number of changes not only within the context of criminal law, but at the level of the prevention of victimization and the protection of victims as well.32 
Regarding the substantive criminal law issues, “minor” is, according to Greek law33  and in compliance with the Convention, every person under the age of 18 years, while the legal age in order for consensual or certain other sexual related activities (such as the solicitation of Art. 348B PC) not to constitute a crime is 15 years of age (Art. 339 (1) PC). However, despite the right to sexual self-determination granted to minors older than 15, there are certain sexual related situations, in which the participation of a minor, regardless of his age, always constitutes a crime (e.g. in all offences related to the child pornography chain (Art. 348A PC)).  
Of the new forms of criminal conduct established as a result of the implementation of the Convention and directly connected to the “triptych” sexual misconduct-child victim-new technologies, the solicitation (grooming) has been enshrined in Art. 348B PC. This provision is in principle aligned with the minimum terms of Art. 23 of the Convention. However, in relation to child pornography, “obtaining access” (viewing without downloading) to child pornographic material through information and communication technologies is, contrary to Art. 20(1f) of the Convention, not expressly criminalized in the Greek Penal Code. Also, the meaning of “possession” (physical and knowing control over an object with the power to further distribution) of child pornography by means of computer use or online services, already constituting a criminal act according to the existing provision on child pornography (Art. 348A PC)34 , cannot be extended to include the act of online viewing, in which both literature and jurisprudence agree.35  Finally, the Greek legislator, under the influence of the Convention, strengthened with Art. 337(3-4) PC the protection of minors from modern forms of offences against the sexual dignity which may occur through the use of information technologies without necessarily presupposing a physical contact or intercourse (e.g. indecent proposals via the Internet).36 
As far as the use of technology to help and support minors is concerned, Art. 2 of implementing Law 3727/2008 provides for the setting up of telephone or Internet “helplines” to assist children in danger or child victims. It also includes the establishment of data and information units for monitoring the phenomenon of sexual exploitation and abuse.37  Furthermore, Art. 226A(3) CCP, which preceded the implementation of the Convention, foresees that the pre-trial witness testimony of a child victim is to be videotaped, if possible, for the purpose of further replacing the physical presence of the minor during the proceedings by the electronic projection of the interview. The provisions of Art. 226A(2-5) clearly violate the principles of the ECHR to a fair and adversarial trial since neither the defendant nor his lawyer are allowed to be present during the child interview (preliminary, main or complementary) and their only possibility to “examine” the witness during trial is through predetermined questions asked by an investigating officer out of court. The introduction of videoconferencing, one of the measures proposed by the Convention, in the Greek proceedings could serve as a counterbalance to the conflict between the rights of the victim and those of the defendant.38
 
 
V. Conclusion

The Council of Europe Convention, the first international legal instrument to specifically target child victimization through sexual-related crimes, sets the ground rules for the prevention of and the combat against sexual exploitation and abuse of minors as well as for the protection of the rights of child victims. It therefore represents “a major advance in protecting children that is remarkable for its comprehensiveness, innovation, and humanity”.39  However, its long-term effectiveness in a modern society of communications and technology remains to be proved. The desired harmonization of the national legal orders demands a greater number of ratifications, while the sometimes abstract and non-rigid character of the Convention impedes this process. This becomes apparent, among others, in the absence of a single norm regulating the legal age for sexual activities, in the possibilities of the states not to criminalize specific conduct (by means of reservation), e.g. the “obtaining access to child pornography”, in the use of vague terms (e.g. “possessing” and “obtaining access” to child pornography online), and finally in the lack of specification regarding more precise rules of penal jurisdiction and coordination in internet crime.
As far as Greece is concerned, even though the respective national provisions are not exhaustive and in some points do not fully comply with the Convention, there has been significant progress in the areas of prevention, protection and law enforcement. On the other hand, the reinforced legal position of the victim in criminal proceedings, in which the Convention resulted, exposed the necessity for further amendments in the Greek criminal procedure in order to refrain from unequal restrictions of the defendant’s rights or from jeopardising the traditional goal of the criminal trial (finding substantial truth through due process). Nonetheless, the Convention itself provides, especially by promoting the protective use of technology in criminal proceedings, a minimum solution to the problem. Hence, taking full advantage of its provisions seems to be the right way to go.
 
 
Notes
 
* This article is the updated version of the previously published article by E. Billis and P. Gkaniatsos, “Minors as Victims in the Age of Information and Communication Technologies” in eucrim 2/2011, pp. 82-87 and is reprinted here with the authors’ permission.
1 The authors would like to thank V. Chalkiadaki, LL.M. (Freiburg), for her valuable comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
2 See among others H. Reeves, Children as Victims of Crime, in: P.C. Friday / G.F. Kirchhoff (Eds.), Victimology at the Transition From the 20th to the 21st Century - Essays in Honor of Hans Joachim Schneider, Shaker Aachen, 2000, pp. 259-260, 264-267. 
3 See European Commission COM(2010)94 final, pp. 2, 8. 
4 See also the Preamble of the Convention as well §§ 1-32 of the Explanatory Report (hereinafter: ER) in
http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/201.htm.
5 For more information and updates see
http://conventions.coe.int/.
6 Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Combating the Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Pornography, repealing Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (hereinafter: Proposal for an EU Directive (COM(2010)94 final));see the consolidated text adopted by the European Parliament at first reading on 27 October 2011 with a view to the final adoption of the Directive, P7_TA-PROV(2011)0468.
7 Another goal is the promotion of the international cooperation, see Art. 38. 
8 Art. 3(a, c). According to § 51 ER, the facts of the sexual exploitation or abuse do not have to be es-tablished before a child is to be considered a victim.
9 Art. 18(1a, 2, 3); also Art. 23 (solicitation).
10 Possessing or viewing of child pornography images constitutes for example not a direct abuse or even exploitation act in the strict sense. It is however in many ways closely (even causally) linked to the growing phenomenon of child abuse, which national policies are called upon to urgently address. See also M.Taylor/E.Quayle, Child Pornography: An Internet Crime, Brunner-Routledge Hove-New York, 2003, pp. 7-10, 21-26; on the relation between sexual exploitation and the criminalization of child pornography and sexual grooming on the basis of the harm principle, S. Ost, Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming, Cambridge University Press Cambridge et. al., 2009, pp. 103-147.  
11 See §§ 117-160 ER; further below III.
12 Arts. 26-29; §§ 177-202 ER.
13 See § 112 ER; on the need and functions of law approximation in that field see European Commis-sion COM(2010)94 final, p. 8; also Y. Akdeniz, Internet child pornography and the law, Ashgate Hampshire, 2008, pp. 163-164. 
14 Arts. 25, 32; also §§ 171-174 ER.
15 See Art. 30(4) of the Convention and further below III; also Council of Europe Recommendation Rec (2001)16 on the protection of children against sexual exploitation.
16 See among others Y. Akdeniz, Internet child pornography and the law, Ashgate Hampshire, 2008, pp.1-3, 5-8; P. Csonka, The Council of Europe’s Convention on Cyber-Crime and other European Ini-tiatives, in: International Review of Penal Law 2006, pp. 487-488; U. Sieber, The threat of cybercrime, in: Council of Europe (Ed.), Organised crime in Europe – Situation report 2004, Council of Europe Strasbourg, 2005, pp. 83-85, 135-137; M. Taylor/E. Quayle, Child Pornography: An Internet Crime, Brunner-Routledge Hove-New York, 2003, pp. 9-10, 14-17; also Preamble (2, 13) of the Proposal for an EU Directive (COM(2010)94 final); see also J. Davidson/P. Gottschalk, Introduction, in: J. David-son/P. Gottschalk (Eds.), Internet Child Abuse, Routledge Abingdon, 2011, pp. 1-3; P. Gottschalk, Characteristics of the Internet and child abuse, in: J. Davidson/P. Gottschalk (Eds.), Internet Child Abuse, Routledge Abingdon, 2011, pp. 27-42; M. Ferrarο/E. Casey, Investigating Child Exploitation and Pornography, Elsevier Burlington et. al., 2005, pp. 21-40.
17 For a definition see U. Sieber, The threat of cybercrime, in: Council of Europe (Ed.), Organised crime in Europe – Situation report 2004, Council of Europe Strasbourg, 2005, p. 86; on the risks for children using the Internet J. Davidson, Legislation and policy, in: J. Davidson/P. Gottschalk (Eds.), Internet Child Abuse, Routledge Abingdon, 2011, pp. 8-9.
18 See also Art. 9 of the Convention on Cybercrime.
19 For the definition of “child pornography” see Art. 20.   
20 “The intentional nature of the offence may notably be deduced from the fact that it is recurrent or that the offences were committed via a service in return for payment”, see § 140 ER; further on the concept of possession and accession in Internet see M. Ferrarο/E. Casey, Investigating Child Exploita-tion and Pornography, Elsevier Burlington et. al., 2005, pp. 246-249; E. Howard, Don’t Cache Out Your Case, in: Berkeley Technology Law Journal 2004, pp. 1229-1231, 1232-1236, 1255 fn. 160.
21 Reservations regarding the application of Art. 20(1f) are though under Art. 20(4) permissible.
22 See §§ 155-160 ER; also Art. 5(3) of the Proposal for an EU Directive (COM(2010)94 final); more on the online sexual grooming see in S. Ost, Child Pornography and Sexual Grooming, Cambridge University Press Cambridge et. al., 2009, pp. 32-39, 48-53; J. Davidson, Legislation and policy, in: J. Davidson/P. Gottschalk (Eds.), Internet Child Abuse, Routledge Abingdon, 2011, pp. 9-12; also the surveys “Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth”, 2000 (
http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/jvq/CV38.pdf) and “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later”, 2006 (http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV138.pdf).
23 See on that direction Preamble (9, 13) and Art. 16(2) of the Proposal for an EU Directive (COM(2010)94 final). On the relation between the global nature of cyber-crime and issues of jurisdic-tion and applicability see among others U. Sieber, Internationales Strafrecht im Internet, in: NJW 1999, pp. 2065-2073 and J.R. Reidenberg, Technology and Internet Jurisdiction, in: University of Pennsylvania Law Review 2005, pp. 1953-1974; also P. Csonka, The Council of Europe’s Convention on Cyber-Crime and other European Initiatives, in: International Review of Penal Law 2006, pp. 475-482 and L. Ferola, The Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime, in: Essays in Honour of C. D. Spinellis, A.N.Sakkoulas Athens-Komotini, 2010, pp. 159-161 .  
24 See the ways the new technologies could support the international fight against online sexual crimes in J. Carr/Z. Hilton, Combating child abuse images on the Internet, in: J. Davidson/P. Gottschalk(Eds.), Internet Child Abuse, Routledge Abingdon, 2011, pp. 61-73.
25 Arts. 30(5), 31(1e), 35(2), 36(2b); see also Art. 19(4-5) of the Proposal for an EU Directive (COM(2010)94 final). 
26 See also the Council Framework Decision of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings (2001/220/JHA), O.J. L 82, 22.03.2001, p. 1 and Arts. 17-23 of the Proposal for a Direc-tive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, sup-port and protection of victims of crime (COM(2011) 275 final, 18.05.2011).
27 On the principles arising from the right of Art. 6(3d) ECHR see the case-law of the ECtHR (
http://echr.coe.int/echr/en/hudoc), among others Al-khawaja u. Tahery/UK (J. of 20.01.2009 - 26766/05, §§27, 34-38 with further references. With regard to child sexual victims and the use of video or video-link technology: S.N./Sweden (J. of 02.07.2002 - 34209/96, §§46-52); W./Finland (J. of 24.04.2007 - 14151/02, §§45-48); A.H./Finland (J. of 10.05.2007 - 46602/99, §42); W.S./Poland (J. of 19.06.2007 - 21508/02, §§55-63); A.L./Finland (J. of 27.01.2009 - 23220/04, §§36-45).
28 Arts. 336 – 353 PC.
29 See e.g. the Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to compensation to crime vic-tims (OJ L 261, 06.08.2004, p. 15) implemented by Law 3811/2009 (Government Gazette Α 231/18.12.2009); the Framework Decision on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings (2001/220/JHA); the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replac-ing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA (OJ L 101, 15.04.2011, p. 1); the EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child - COM(2011) 60, 15.2.2011; and the provisions of the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, COM(2011) 275 final (see European Union News in this issue of eucrim); also Council of Europe Recommendation Rec(2006)8 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on assistance to crime victims; and annual report 2007-2008 of the network “Victim Support Europe” (
http://www.victimsupporteurope.eu/).
30 See M. Margariti, Criminal Code, Interpretation-Implementation, 2nd ed., P.N.Sakkoulas Athens, 2009, p. 318 (in Greek).
31 Government Gazette Α 257/18.12.2008.
32 See the new phrasing of Arts. 337-339, 342, 348A-349 PC implementing Arts. 18-23, 27-28 of the Convention. Aiding or abetting and attempt matters are sufficiently addressed by the existing provi-sions of the general part of the penal law (Art. 42-49 PC), while in regard to matters of jurisdiction Art. 8 PC additionally establishes for crimes such as sex tourism and child pornography the principle of universal jurisdiction. On the (administrative) liability of a legal person for sexual offences committed for its benefit by a natural person see already Art. 4 of the Law 3625/2007 (Government Gazette Α 290/24.12.2007) implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. See also Arts. 1-2, 5-8 Law 3727/2008 for the adjustment of the Greek law to Arts. 4-17, 30-37 of the Con-vention. In the context of coordination of state institutions, non-governmental and other organizations engaged in assisting (potential) victims, the “Central Scientific Council for Prevention of and Combat against Minor Victimization and Juvenile Delinquency” (
www.kesathea.org) was founded only re-cently by Law 3860/2010 (Government Gazette A 111/12.07.2010) and is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the activities of every local “Minor Protection Institution”, conducting awareness raising campaigns etc.; see also the establishment by Law 3961/2011 (Government Gazette A  97/29.04.2011) of the National Child Protection Register, the National Child Protection Line and the Network for the protection of children in danger and of juvenile offenders.
33 Art. 127 of the Greek Civil Code and Art. 121 PC.
34 The provision was added in the PC with Law 3064/2002 (Government Gazette Α 248/15.10.2002), and was amended by Laws 3625/2007 and 3727/2008.
35 See G. Bourmas, Attempts to Define the Meaning of Possession of Child Pornography in Electronic Data Format, in: Poiniki Dikaiosini 2009, pp. 322-327; D. Kioupis, Child Pornography, Interpretative Approaches of Art. 348 A PC, in: Poinikos Logos 2008, pp. 14-17 (both in Greek); see also the deci-sions of the Supreme Court Areios Pagos 810/2007 and 465/2008. 
36 See the Explanatory Report of Law 3727/2008 (
www.hellenicparliament.gr).
37 See also the “Hellenic Association for the Prevention of Sexual Abuse” (
www.obrela.gr), which cur-rently conducts under the e-NACSO auspice (European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online, www.enacso.eu) a project on online safety of children in Greece. On the issue of recording and storing (DNA) data of already convicted sexual offenders, Greece designated with its declaration from 23 June 2010 the Forensic Science Division of the Hellenic Police Headquarters as the National Authority referred to in Art. 37 of the Convention.
38 See A. Charalampakis, The New Law 3625/2007 on Child Trafficking, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, in: Poinikos Logos 2007, p. 829; G. Papadimitrakis, The Treatment of Minor Victims in the English Criminal Procedure, in: Poiniki Dikaiosini 2009, pp. 1013-1014 (both in Greek).
39 S.H. Bitensky, Introductory Note to Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, in: International Legal Materials 2010, p. 1663.

Χριστίνα Ζαραφωνίτου
“Δεν μπορούσα να διανοηθώ ότι δε θ’ ασχοληθώ με την Εγκληματολογία”

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HACKERS

 
Προσεγγίζουμε το φαινόμενο των hackers...
 
• με την εργασία “hackers” του Βασίλη Καραγιαννόπουλου
 
• και τα πορίσματα της έρευνας “Η ΓΝΩΜΗ ΦΟΙΤΗΤΩΝ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΥΣ «ΧΑΚΕΡΣ»” που πραγματοποιήθηκε από το ΕΡΓΑΣΤΗΡΙΟ ΠΟΙΝΙΚΩΝ & ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑΤΟΛΟΓΙΚΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟΥ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ 


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Επιστημονική Εκδήλωση με θέμα: «(Αν)ασφάλεια, Αντεγκληματική Πολιτική και Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου»

Επιστημονική εκδήλωση με θέμα:
«Εγκληματολογικές Οψεις της Μετανάστευσης»


4η Συνδιάσκεψη των Κρατών-Μελών του Διεθνούς Ποινικού Δικαστηρίου.

Το πρόγραμμα "ΕΝ ΔΡΑΣΕΙ" του ΚΕ.Θ.Ε.Α.



ΑΚΗΣ ΠΑΝΟΥ:
«Νά ’χα τη δύναμη να κάνω κάποιο λάθος...»

 

«Είμαι αναρχικός με την πραγματική έννοια του όρου και όχι του βιτρινοθραύστη... Προσπαθώ να βάλλω εναντίον αυτού του συστήματος με το μόνο μέσον που διαθέτω: τη συνεχώς διαμορφούμενη λογική μου».
 
Η ζωή, το έργο, η δίκη και καταδίκη ενός από τους μεγαλύτερους λαϊκούς συνθέτες...
 
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ΤΣΕΖΑΡΕ ΛΟΜΠΡΟΖΟ
 
 
Σας παρουσιάζουμε την ζωή και το έργο του Τσέζαρε Λομπρόζο... Ο  ιταλός πανεπιστημιακός καθηγητής και εγκληματολόγος, ένας από τους μεγάλους εκπροσώπους της ιταλικής θετικής σχολής, έγινε γνωστός για τις μελέτες και τις θεωρίες του πάνω στη χαρακτηρολογία...
 
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Πρόληψη θυματοποίησης μετά από συναλλαγή σε ΑΤΜ
Η παρούσα στήλη παρουσιάζει πρακτικές συμβουλές για όλους μας ώστε να μη γινόμαστε εύκολος στόχος των εγκληματιών.
 
Σ΄αυτό το τεύχος σας παρουσιάζουμε συμβουλές προκειμένου να αποφευχθούν εγκλήματα που τελούνται εναντίον μας μετά από συναλλαγή μας σε κάποιο ΑΤΜ...
 
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Επιστημονική ημερίδα με θέμα: «Το πρόβλημα της παραβατικότητας στην Ελλάδα σήμερα και εφικτοί τρόποι αντιμετώπισής του»...

διοργανώνεται από την Κ.Ε.Δ.Κ.Ε., την Ελληνική Εταιρεία Εγκληματολογίας, το Ε.Π.Ε.Ε. και το ΚΕ.Σ.Π.ΠΑ. την Τετάρτη 17 Μαΐου 2006...



Συνέδριο με θέμα: «Ανήλικοι και παραβατικότητα»...

διοργανώνεται από το Ε.Π.Ε.Ε, τον Τομέα Εγκληματολογίας του Παντείου Πανεπιστημίου, το Σπουδαστήριο Κοινωνικών Μελετών του ΤΕΙ Μεσολογγίου και τον Ε.Ο.Φ.Ν. την Τρίτη 23.5.2006 και την Τετάρτη 24.5.2006...



Η 1η Συνάντηση Ελλήνων Εγκληματολόγων...

θα πραγματοποιηθεί στη Μυτιλήνη από τις 08/06 έως τις 11/06/2006 ...



ΠΟΙΝΙΚΗ ΑΝΤΙΜΕΤΩΠΙΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΕΞΑΡΤΗΜΕΝΩN ΑΠΟ ΝΑΡΚΩΤΙΚΕΣ ΟΥΣΙΕΣ ΠΑΡΑΒΑΤΩΝ
 
Οι τοξικομανείς αποτελούν μία από τις πιο αποκλεισμένες κοινωνικά ομάδες και είναι προφανές ότι ο ποινικός τους εγκλεισμός τους αποδίδει άλλη μία αρνητική ταυτότητα, η οποία επιτείνει τη συνείδηση του περιθωριοποιημένου και ωθεί περαιτέρω στη διατήρηση ενός φαύλου κύκλου στίγματος- αποκλεισμού- παραβατικότητας.
 
Μια παρουσίαση του νομικού πλαισίου της ποινικής αντιμετώπισης των εξαρτημένων από ναρκωτικές ουσίες παραβατών...
  
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Βγαίνουμε στο δρόμο και ΣΑΣ ρωτάμε:

 
Είστε υπέρ ή κατά της με κάθε μέσο διατήρησης στη ζωή ενός ανιάτως πάσχοντα ασθενούς ο οποίος : 
α) απευθύνει επίμονη και συνειδητή έκκληση για το μοιραίο;
β) είναι σε κώμα και η κατάστασή του περιγράφεται ως «μη αναστρέψιμη»;
 

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ΛΕΟΝΑΡΝΤΟ ΣΑΣΑ
‘Η ΗΜΕΡΑ ΤΗΣ ΚΟΥΚΟΥΒΑΓΙΑΣ’
 
Ο αριστερός συγγραφέας Λεονάρντο Σάσα (1921- 1989) είναι από τους λίγους διανοούμενους που, μέσα στον αναβρασμό ιδεών της δεκαετίας του ΄60 αλλά και της προκλητικής σιωπής και συνενοχής, αναδεικνύει το καυτό πρόβλημα της μαφίας και τη διαφθορά του πολιτικού συστήματος και προβλέπει τη βία που θα ξεσπούσε αργότερα από τους ακροαριστερούς και τη νέο-φασιστική δεξιά. Όλα αυτά στο βιβλίο του "Η Ημέρα της Κουκουβάγιας"...

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Συνάντηση με τον Ηλία...
 
... Τον Ηλία τον εντοπίσαμε μέσω του Υπουργείου Δικαιοσύνης στη Δικαστική Φυλακή Κορυδαλλού και συναντηθήκαμε μαζί του στα τέλη Μαϊου του 1999 σε έναν ειδικά διαμορφωμένο χώρο στον κήπο του αρχιφυλακείου...
 
Αρκετά συμπαθητική φυσιογνωμία, με λεπτά χαρακτηριστικά και ανήσυχο βλέμμα... Θέμα της συζήτησης "η ζωή πίσω από τα σίδερα". Και πολλά άλλα...
 
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JOURNAL "SOCIAL SCIENCES"

Constanteion - Centre of Criminology & Psychology Researches

Federation of Prison Officers

Professor Nestor Courakis

Ministry of Citizen Protection

I feel safe

Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights

Hellenic Supreme Court of Civil and Penal Law

ex-offenders

Professor Giannis Panousis

Centre for Psychoanalytic Research

Sector of Criminal Sciences - Faculty of Law - National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Association of greek criminologists - Panteion University

Centre of Social Research - Technological Education Institute of Messolonghi

Sector of Criminology - Panteion University

Sector of Penal and Criminological Sciences - Faculty of Law - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

European Court of Human Rights - Search Portal

Hellenic League for Human Rights

Marangkopoulos Foundation for Human Rights

Faculty of Law - National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Centre for Penal and Criminological Research

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