The MEDICRIME Convention: Combating Pharmaceutical Crimes through European Criminal Law and Beyond

The falsification of medicinal products represents a significant public health threat and has rapidly turned into a global criminal phenomenon. Pharmaceutical crimes are considered an emerging category of transnational organised crime and have progressively become cyber-enabled crimes. The international community has called for a stronger and more effective response, but the international legal framework has long remained substantially inadequate at both European and international levels. Against this background, 1 January 2016 marked a significant milestone in the fight against falsified medicines with the entry into force of the Council of Europe MEDICRIME Convention. The Convention is the first binding European criminal law instrument to oblige States Parties to criminalise the falsification of medical products and similar offences posing serious threats to public health. It represents a landmark tool which will pave the way for harmonised criminal legislation and enhanced international cooperation in criminal matters at pan-European level and beyond.