Regulations, Directives and other acts

The aims set out in the EU treaties are achieved by several types of legal act. These legislative acts include regulations, directives, recommendations and opinions. Some are binding, others are not. Some apply to all EU countries, others to just a few.

Application of EU law

EU law - which has equal force with national law - confers rights and obligations on the authorities in each member country, as well as individuals and businesses. The authorities in each member country are responsible for implementing EU legislation in national law and enforcing it correctly, and they must guarantee citizens’ rights under these laws.

Find legislation

EU legislation takes the form of:

· Treaties establishing the European Union and governing the way it works

· EU regulations, directives and decisions - with a direct or indirect effect on EU member states.

Find case-law

EU case-law is made up of judgments from the European Union's Court of Justice, which interpret EU legislation.

WHAT IS A CRIMINALIST?

A criminalist is a person with a background in science, typically having at least a baccalaureate degree in an area such as chemistry, biology, forensic science, or criminalistics. Some criminalists have degrees in other, similarly related areas. Many criminalists have advanced degrees.

With the above scientific background and additional training given by his/her employer (either a government or private laboratory) a criminalist applies scientific methods and techniques to examine and analyze evidentiary items and testifies in court as to his or her findings. Please read below, under criminalistics, for a more detailed description of what criminalists do.

WHAT ARE SOME TYPES OF CRIMINALISTICS?

Firearms and Toolmarks

Criminalists provide information to investigators about the caliber and type of firearm used in a crime. Scratches, or striation marks, are left on bullets by the barrel of a pistol or rifle. Once a firearm is recovered, these marks can individualize a bullet to a unique firearm to the exclusion of all other firearms. Similarly, tools used in crimes can leave striation and other marks on surfaces. These marks can be compared to the tool believed to have made them. If the comparison is a positive match, a tool may be individualized as having made the mark to the exclusion of all other tools. A computer database of marks on cartridge cases and bullets has been developed to link a particular firearm to serial crimes.

Trace Evidence

Trace evidence, frequently overlooked because of its microscopic size, applies microanalysis to fibers, hair, soil, paint, glass, pollen, explosives, gunshot residue, food, plastic bags, and virtually anything involved in a crime. No training exists that will prepare the trace evidence analyst for every kind of case that will cross their workbench, as each case is fascinatingly unique. By having a thorough knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of microscopic, spectroscopic, and chromatographic methods, the criminalist can meet the analytical challenge of each case.

DNA and Serology

In the mid 1980s, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques began to be applied to forensic cases. Any tissue from the body carrying the genetic code of DNA may be used to compare to a standard. This can possibly allow blood and other biological material to be associated with an individual. Databases of DNA profiles have been compiled to aid in identifying criminals and have been used to solve cases many years old, where samples were properly preserved and reanalyzed. In some cases innocent persons have even been released from prison based on the reanalysis of DNA evidence.