Abstract
The decision of the Supreme Court in RJR Nabisco v. European Community is the culmination of sixteen years of litigation, preceded by years of investigation. From a European perspective, the decision can only be read as a disappointment: “we” tried, “we” lost. But beyond the frustration with the outcome, this European take on the RJR decision will focus on two questions: (i) why did the European Community decide to bring proceedings in the United States in the first place; and (ii) what would happen in the reverse scenario, if a foreign public authority or a private plaintiff were to bring suit in the European Union? Answering these two questions casts RJR in a slightly different light and offers an interesting picture of the wider political and regulatory context in the European Union.
Highlights
The decision of the Supreme Court in RJR Nabisco v
Beyond the frustration with the outcome, this European take on the RJR decision will focus on two questions: (i) why did the European Community decide to bring proceedings in the United States in the first place; and (ii) what would happen in the reverse scenario, if a foreign public authority or a private plaintiff were to bring suit in the European Union? Answering these two questions casts RJR in a slightly different light and offers an interesting picture of the wider political and regulatory context in the European Union
RJR and the Development of EU Criminal Law: What if Nabisco Had Been Sued in the European Union?
Summary
The decision of the Supreme Court in RJR Nabisco v. The facts at the heart of RJR would trigger criminal and administrative proceedings spread throughout the territories, and among the public authorities, of many different Member States and be subject to only partially harmonized national laws. It is only more or less since the RJR case began that regulations in the European Union are starting to change this framework. The decentralized application of EU law explains why the protection of the European Union’s financial interests has been a recurring problem, subject in the last twenty years to multiple legislative initiatives This problem, together with the fight against international organized crime and terrorism in an open market, has prompted the development of EU criminal law.
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