Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on emblematic moments and institutions that have emerged since the fall of the Berlin Wall, all part of this broader unhinging of criminal justice from the state - but of course never completely relegating the state to irrelevance. It demonstrates how, across sites, the internationalization of criminal justice has been driven by competing political stakes, legal doctrines, networks, and the quotidian practices of professionals. The book provides further evidence that the internationalization of criminal law within the European Union was a technocratic endeavor partly defined by transnational networks of experts. It focuses on the practitioners actively involved in pulling criminal justice onto an international scene of governance where it competes with other technologies and approaches. The book also focuses on how new practices of criminal law have been developed beyond the state.