The Symbolic Purpose of EU Criminal Law

Thomas Elholm , Renaud Colson (1)

1 DCS - Droit et changement social

Drawing on Durkheim’s sociology of law and the contribution of other authors who have emphasized the expressive dimension of punishment, this paper argues that the symbolic function of criminal law, which can be observed at the national level in European Member States, also has significance at the level of the European Union. Just as national governments, the Union may have good strategic reasons to enact criminal law with strong elements of symbolic function. But such a policy raises many problems.

Mots clés: Criminal law; European Union

Domaines: Droit

Thomas Elholm, Renaud Colson. The Symbolic Purpose of EU Criminal Law. Colson, Renaud and Field, Stewart. EU Criminal Justice and the Challenges of Diversity: Legal Cultures in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, Cambridge University Press, pp.48-64, 2016, 978-1-107-09658-5. ⟨10.1017/CBO9781316156315.004⟩. ⟨hal-03318583⟩