Allister lashes EU meddling in criminal law
23 April 2007
Ulster QC and MEP, Jim Allister has spoken out strongly in Strasbourg against “expansionism by the unelected EU Commission into dictating what will be criminal offences in the UK and what penalties will be imposed”.
Using a debate in the European Parliament on a Brussels Directive on patent law, Mr Allister highlighted its proposals to make breaches of patents (hitherto in the UK a civil matter only) into criminal offences, as an example of law-making “not because the elected House of Commons thinks it necessary or wise, but because the unelected EU Commission dictates it.” Such he described as “intolerable meddling”.
In the course of his remarks Jim Allister said:-
“I speak in this debate to record my total opposition to the EU meddling in the criminal law of member states, to the monstrous extent of demanding new offences and dictating the level of penalties to be enforced in the UK and other states.
It is the nefarious ECJ decision of September 2005 which, of course, gives rise to this intolerable infringement of national sovereignty. Now, we are seeing a programme of rampant expansionism of power by the Commission.
What makes this Directive even more objectionable from the UK perspective is that, for the first time, it will make breach of patent a criminal offence, punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment, or more, not because the elected House of Commons thinks it necessary or wise, but because the unelected EU Commission dictates it.
I reject such intolerable EU interference and, therefore, I reject this Directive.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The debate in question was on a proposal from the EU Commission for a Directive making breaches of patent law a criminal offence throughout the EU and imposing significant sentences of up to 4 years imprisonment or more.
2. Till now breaches of patent law, in common with other intellectual property rights, has in the UK been a civil matter, giving only rise to civil litigation and damages. In much of “continental Europe” it is a criminal offence, but that view has never been taken in the common law jurisdictions, such as UK or Ireland.
3. On 13 September 2005, in a landmark decision (case C-176/03) which greatly extended the powers of the EU, the ECJ (European Court of Justice in Luxembourg) ruled that though, as a general rule, criminal matters did not fall within the competence of the EU, nonetheless the EU can set the content of criminal offences and penalties where such is required to ensure EU provisions are implemented. This has been latched onto by the Commission to greatly expand its interference in the internal jurisdictions of member states. The Directive on Patents was expressly amended by the Commission, after the ECJ ruling, to make breaches of patent law a criminal offence throughout the EU and to impose the range of penalties for infringement.
