International and European Criminal Law
Criminal law is not a phenomenon of national scope only. National borders have become permeable for criminal law, and the globalization of business and trade has led to an increase in transnational criminal proceedings. The European legislator enacted the European arrest warrant, and mutual legal assistance agreements with many (European) countries have been intensified within the last years. Today, lawyers are challenged to integrate national and transnational criminal law. We are prepared and ready to meet this challenge, especially in the area of European and international tax law and customs regulations.
As important as the European development is the influence of foreign criminal proceedings on German criminal defense work. If - for example - the SEC conducts an investigation on the basis of the FCPA (Foreign Corruption Practices Act), this will allways be accompanied by a German counterpart. It is, in this instance, not the exception any longer that American and German prosecutors work collaboratively. In all of those cases, it is necessary to have extensive knowledge not only of the German regulations but also knowledge of international and European mechanisms of criminal proceedings as well as an understanding of the systematical background of common law lawyers.