GLOBALIZATION AND TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINALITY: THE SCOPE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ORDER
GLOBALIZATION AND TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINALITY: THE SCOPE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ORDER

Summary/Abstract: The paper systematically analyzes the complex, multidimensional relationship between contemporary processes of globalization and the evolution of transnational criminality, with a specific scientific focus on the critical evaluation of the actual scope, institutional capacities, and inherent limitations of the current international legal order. As a dominant socio-economic process, globalization has brought an unprecedented degree of market integration, accelerated technological development, and the free flow of people, goods, capital, and information. However, this transformation has simultaneously created an exceptionally conducive, fluid, and deregulated environment in which traditional state borders are rapidly losing their primary function as impenetrable security barriers. Transnational organized criminal groups have fundamentally and strategically exploited this phenomenon, successfully transforming themselves from rigid, locally-oriented structures into decentralized, highly flexible, and technologically sophisticated global networks operating on the principles of modern multinational corporations. In terms of methodology, the research primarily relies on the dogmatic-legal method through a detailed analysis of key international legal sources, with special emphasis on the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Convention). The paper also conducts a detailed analysis of European Union legal instruments, with a particular focus on Directive (EU) 2024/1260 on asset recovery and confiscation, alongside an evaluation of the efficiency and operational cooperation of international and regional bodies such as Interpol, Europol, and Eurojust. Throughout the paper, the central hypothesis is tested and proven: traditional mechanisms of international public law, primarily rooted in the rigid classical concept of state sovereignty and strictly territorially defined jurisdiction, exhibit deep structural asymmetry, anachronism, and procedural inertia when confronting the fluid, asymmetric, and cross-border nature of contemporary criminal activities. Special scientific attention is dedicated to the analysis of new, high-tech forms of criminal activity. This includes transnational cybercrime, money laundering through complex cryptocurrency systems, and cross-border forms of human trafficking. These forms most glaringly demonstrate the impotence of classical, bureaucratized institutions. The results of the conducted research unequivocally indicate that, despite significant normative shifts toward the harmonization of criminal legislation at global and regional levels, the actual practical scope of the international legal order remains severely limited by the particular political interests of sovereign states, dramatic disparities in technological development, and excessive procedural delays in extradition proceedings. In conclusion, the paper argumentatively highlights the urgent necessity of a radical redefinition of existing models of international judicial and police cooperation, suggesting a transition from reactive to proactive strategies through the creation of supranational operational networks.

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