Police and Judicial Cooperation Policy

This chapter begins by locating the development of police and judicial cooperation into the broader context of the creation and evolution of the Area of Justice, Freedom and Security and its institutional aspects. It explores various academic approaches to the study of European police and judicial cooperation. The chapter examines the main actors and issues in European Union (EU) police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Treaty of Lisbon, EU police and judicial cooperation measures are adopted according to the ordinary legislative procedure, which has replaced the co-decision procedure. The chapter explores developments in EU police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters and highlights key areas that have received academic attention. EU police and judicial cooperation has been significantly fostered by two European agencies, namely the European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, that is, Europol, which was previously known as the European Police Office, and the EU’s Judicial Cooperation Unit.