The Forgotten Freedom: September 11 as a Challenge for European Legal Principles

This volume is a polemic for freedom - or more concretely, for a liberal criminal law in Common Europe. In the conflict between security and freedom, the fragile constitutional criminal law is in danger of being crushed completely. The populist concept of promising total security destroys the very foundation of what it hopes to secure. The consequence is: Freedom is surely dying with security! The national differences within the European Union seek a common and reliable justification of liberal criminal law principles in a common European constitution. A minimalist but absolute constitutional criminal law is the "crash test dummy" that will be sacrificed in the interest of the European integration process. European criminal law principles partially proved themselves with a promising philosophical start over several centuries, especially in Britain and France. However, they have been eroded, and now must prove themselves fully. Even worse, if these principles are ignored, the idea of a "United Europe" vanishes. Never forget: It is freedom that constitutes the foundation of unity. Freedom brings about security. This is what this polemic demands.