Boudewijn is an external PhD candidate of the University of Leiden. He serves as a public prosecutor at the Public Prosecution Office of The Hague.

More information about Boudewijn de Jonge

Boudewijn is an external PhD candidate of the University of Leiden. He serves as a public prosecutor at the Public Prosecution Office of The Hague.

He conducts research on the role of investigating judges and public prosecutors in combatting transnational organized crime. The central question of his research is whether and how they engage the transnational dimension of this type of crime in their criminal investigations. This transnational dimension may, for instance, affect the objectives of such investigations, decisions on whether to share information with foreign authorities, or the scope of indictments.

Practically every country in the world has committed itself to fight transnational organized crime by signing up to multilateral treaties and soft law instruments in this field. Within the European Union in particular, an enhanced framework for international cooperation between police and judicial authorities has been developed over the last two decades. Moreover, European law now stipulates various positive obligations compelling authorities to engage in cross-border cooperation in criminal matters. Notwithstanding these trends, the work of investigating judges and public prosecutors alike remains focused by nature on adjudication of criminal cases before the competent domestic courts. The result is a potential dichotomy between the national law-based mandate of investigating judges and public prosecutors and the cross-border dimension of organized crime.

Therefore this research aims to examine if and how the cross-border dimension of organized crime actually impacts upon criminal law enforcement actions. The research will be carried out in four different European jurisdictions and will include interviews and analyses of case files.

This research has the potential to generate new insights on (legal) obstacles to an effective fight against transnational organized crime, and to contribute to a better understanding of the position of national authorities as part of the international and European legal order.