ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to cast light on the complexities surrounding the development of a European judicial area in criminal matters on the basis of mutual recognition. The Commission stresses that the Framework Decision can enhance judicial cooperation in criminal matters by strengthening mutual trust in all actors of the criminal justice system in Member States. The Commission talks about an equivalent treatment of suspects on the basis of minimum standards which are there to enable efficient judicial co-operation in criminal matters. The Court of Justice has started playing an important role in the development of a European judicial area in criminal matters. It creates an imbalance in European Union (EU) criminal law, which is exacerbated by the constant focus on mutual recognition, at the expense of harmonisation of criminal law or an attempt to achieve a better common understanding of the aims and objectives of criminal law in a borderless Union.
