Transnational Crime: Overview, Types, and Theoretical Framework

This report provides an overview of transnational crime in the UK, including its nature and types. It also discusses the theoretical framework of transnational criminology, legal enforcement agencies, and crimes of powerful and powerless. The report further covers the authorities dealing with conflicts of jurisdiction between two countries.

Element 2
Transnational Crime

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
Overview of Transnational Crime in UK ...................................................................................3
Nature and Types of Transnational Crime.................................................................................4
Authorities dealing with conflicts of Jurisdiction between two countries.................................5
Theoretical Framework on Transnational Criminology..............................................................7
Legal Enforcement Agencies .....................................................................................................7
Crimes of Powerful and Crimes of Powerless............................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Transnational crime simply means an offence that happens across territory, boundaries,
border and country. The sources of law plays significant role in identifying the factors that helps
to made distinction between the domestic and transnational crime. According to United Nation
Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000, describes the transnational crime as a
crime committed in more than one country and has very unique concept. UK legal system is
diversified and complex. They recognises the transnational crime as a global issue that brings
instability among states and affects the security of the country1. The UK legal system aims to
secure the rights of their citizens in order to safeguard their human right. This report will cover
the various aspect of Transnational crime and theoretical framework that contributes in
identifying the nature of crime. Further, it will discuss about the differences between the national
and international crime, borderless crime and borderless justice, the challenges between war and
crime.
TASK
Overview of Transnational Crime in UK
Transnational crime is a global threat that are emerged due to globalisation and
modernization of economy. The UK criminology system aims to establish common model of
crime , punishment and remedy. There legal system is based on crime prevention programme in
order to prevent person and property from harm and offer the people safer environment. It is
assumed that advancement of technology and trade has been increased global flow of goods and
services . Although, it has accompanied the criminal offender to commit illegal and act of
criminal conspiracy, also facilitate the new opportunities for collaboration among legislative
body and judicial system to administer such offences.
The famous criminologist Ben Bowling examined the globalised crime, cyber crimes and
other offences of similar nature are devastatingly crossing national boundaries and enhancing the
problem for the government 2. The serious incident of drug production, distribution and
1 Al-Rashidi K, and Walker C, 'Extradition Between Kuwait And The UK: New
Dispositions, Old Doubts' (2021) 66 International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice
2 Tennant I, and Mahadevan P, 'The Implementation Review Mechanism Of The UN
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)' (2021) 3 Brill Research
Perspectives in Transnational Crime

consumption of cocaine which was produced in the Andes and travel across South America and
its impact was examined on far distant countries. Another incident was took place in which
cigarette smuggling was investigated by UK government in the year 2007. The security
service holder has a connection with the Real IRA. The UK and Lithuanian Security Service
agency finds that he has intended to use explosive devices to commit terror attack. There were
many incident took place that rapidly develops the threat from serious offences of cross border
crime. These kinds of crime are featured by violence or threat by fraudulent act, bribery,
corruption, criminal conspiracy etc. These crime are continuously exploiting the global economy
and threatening the public safety. The UK government are working with the UN member states
to prevent the criminal activities which is inherently transnational and involves elements of
cross border.
Nature and Types of Transnational Crime
The United Nation is an international body which is responsible for governing all the
activities of member states and ensure the safety and peace in the country. They identifies the
specific crime such as transnational crime. The nature and type of such crimes are mentioned
below:
 Cyber Crime: This type of crime is usually committed through computer network. As
per Council of Europe's treaty, 1949 it involves illegal use of computer devices in order
to commit forgery, fraud , pornography and IP infringements. Computer Misuse Act of
1990 prohibits hacking and cyber dependent crimes.
 Drug Trafficking: It involves consumption, production of such substance that are strictly
prohibited by law and considered it as a harmful drug. For instance: Transportation of
Cocaine from Afghanistan through Iran and delivered into Iraq3. The UN Convention
against illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic substances, 1998 prevent and
punish for supplying such substances.
 Human Trafficking: It is defined as a serious crime in which people are forced to
indulge in sexual activities, or harbour and exploit them to transfer those humans from
one country to another for the purpose of labouring.
3 BEKH O, 'THE CURRENT STATE AND SOME AREAS OF COMBATING
TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME' [2020] Scientific Journal of Public and
Private Law

 Money Laundering: It is a crime in which monetary element is involved. Such kind of
crime is committed to gains monetary benefits through illegal means by forging, false
money making etc. The Islamic country of Iraq and Syria's abduction of Yazidi women
into Syria is an example of transnational crime of human trafficking. The United Nation
Convention against Corruption recognises the different forms of corruption which
involves monetary loss and harm.
 Weapon Trafficking: it is also termed as arms trafficking generally done to move
weapons and ammunition from one nation to another illegally. The transfer of weapons
from Iraq to Syria is one of the instance of transnational crime. The UN Convention on
Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, 2005 criminalise the possession of nuclear
weapons.
Therefore, the concept of transnational crime is very wide. It is a non exhaustive list. It is far
differ from domestic crime. The effect of such crime is vast and involves multiple elements and
generally termed as crimes against humanity. It deeply impact the vulnerable group of people
such as women and children. It is quite difficult to address the issue of women victimization as
wide range of crime committed against women such as rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment
and domestic violence 4. The societal behaviour towards women discourage them to access their
right to access their right to justice. Due to which, the UN has made many attempts to address the
issue of women victimization in order to protect them from violation of their human and
fundamental right. The UN World Congress on Human Rights, 1993, higher priority is given to
ensure safe communities to women and girl to exercise their social, legal and human right and
provide them social integrity and dignity in the society.
Authorities dealing with conflicts of Jurisdiction between two countries.
In order to deal with transnational crime, it is important to determine the jurisdiction to decide
the case. It is difficult to determine where to prosecute such crime or it involves one country or
more. So, in order to overcome these challenges, the new regulation has been adopted by the UK
government aims to deter the human right violations to safeguard the rights of citizens. The
Global Human Right Sanctions has been introduced in order to administer the transnational
crimes committed across the nations. This regulation has imposed the liability on the wrongdoer
4 Chan F and others, 'Understanding Transnational Bribery: A Corporate Crime
Framework' (2021) 75 Crime, Law and Social Change

and emphasises to control and sanction the individual from committing illegal acts. The
jurisdiction to decide matter varies case to case 5. There are different ways to apply jurisdiction
in relation to transnational crime.
It includes:
 Territoriality Jurisdiction: It includes jurisdiction of a country where the crime has
been actually committed. For instance: if offender is decided to rob bank in one nation
and deposit their money in another bank , then both countries has jurisdiction to decide
the matter as the element of crime is occurred in both the nation.
 Personality Jurisdiction: It is dealing with the place where the crime is actually
committed. Further, it is divided into three parts which includes nationality jurisdiction ,
passive personality jurisdiction and protective jurisdiction.
 Universal Jurisdiction: It refers to commission of serious crime that are terrible in
nature and highly sensitive. It allows a country to prosecute a crime , no matter where it
was actually committed but suo moto cognizance has been taken by the country and
termed as universal jurisdiction. The most effective tool is used to resolve the issue of
conflict in relation to application of jurisdiction that is termed as Extradition. It is an
agreement and extradition treaties is signed between states to caught the criminal for
prosecution for committing crime in another country. There are various other tools that
are used to deal with transnational crime committed across countries. It includes
unilateral , bilateral and multilateral tool which are singed by member states to settle the
dispute arise between the nations. These kinds of treaties are categorised as legal
assistance treaties that helps the enforcement agencies to work jointly in order to
maintain sovereignty, integrity and harmony of each other. In order to deal with financial
matters between the two nation, the UN Convention against Corruption and Money
Laundering Act of 2004 allows the Ministry to seize the illicit substances in order to
reduce drug addiction issues 6. The Financial Action Task Force is another organisation
that was established in 1989 to overcome the challenges due to countering and money
laundering and allows the countries to adopt the most effective techniques and measure to
5 Gravelle J, and Rogers C, 'Initiating Customer/Police Interaction In The UK: Early
Insights From Research' (2012) 40 International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice
6 O'Keefe R, 'The Crime Of Aggression And National Law: The UK' [2019] SSRN
Electronic Journal

deal with this. The United Nation Office on Drugs Crime is a multilateral organisations
that prohibits illegal act of drug trafficking, genocide and terrorism. In the case of Reyes
v Al-Malki and another [2017] UKSC 61, the UK Supreme Court alleged the diplomat
for human trafficking by a former employee. The Court held that the Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 immune the diplomat from criminal liability.
Theoretical Framework on Transnational Criminology
The Transnational criminology is influenced by continuos change in social, economic and
political condition due to which complexity has been arisen. The criminal trends are varying
person to person and nation to nation7. The theory is developed to identify the impact of different
international criminal trends to preserve the legal system of UK are discussed below:
• Liberalism Theory: This theory deals with freedom to make choice, share value and
harmonise the society. It defines the person behaviour that contributes to extend the
transnational organised crime. The solution is identified by excluding such kind
behaviour from society. It authorise the country to establish international institution to
create cooperation among states.
• Marxist Theory: The nature of transnational crime is maximisation of profit through
illegal means. Such kind of criminal intention and behaviour of a person exclude them
from social classes.
• Social Constructivism: This approach is based on human conduct and behaviour within
a society as it helps to identify the person's thinking and ideology. The psychological
behaviour of a person is used to rethink and redefine the social processes in order to
regulate the activities in society.
However, these theories helps to recognise the problem, that agencies actually has been suffered.
Legal Enforcement Agencies
The UK has a unique legal system that allows the law enforcement agencies to ensure safety in
the society. The cyber crimes are operating all over the world. They are encouraging the
adoption of Budapest International Convention on cyber crime, 2001 to encourage fast moving
technology to facilitate various activities that take online. The nature of borderless crime is vast
and it is very challenging for enforcement agencies to examine the cases due to its diversity in
7 Ruggiero V, 'The Crimes Of The Powerful: Between Force And Consensus' (2021) 10
Social Sciences

various countries. International crime involves public International law that aims to maintain
sovereignty and integrity on the disputed countries 8. International crime is a narrow concept
whereas transnational crime is wider in nature and it ideals with genocide crime, war against
humanity etc. Transnational crime is governed by domestic law as well as international law.
International law is identified various International Convention, treaties and customs.
Transnational crime is globally affected the peace and security of nations because of rise in
number of terrorism attacks and war against humanity. The war and terror attacks not only
violates the human right of an individual but also threatens the life of an individual. The UN
declaration of Human Right formulates the policies to safeguard the integrity, dignity and life of
the citizens 9. It is quite challenging for many countries to administer such criminal activities
due to lack of enforcement bodies and legislative framework.
Crimes of Powerful and Crimes of Powerless
The concept of crime is varied and has diverse meaning, based on different
criminologists and scholars theory. Crime of powerful is defined as such areas of law where
corporate bodies and government entities are committed serious offences. It includes serious
injurious actions that are occurred by the authorities of higher position and convey the wrong
message in the society. These kinds of crimes are not only morally and ethically wrong but also
threatens the global political economy. It cause huge loss to nation such as covert war, illegal
detention, Genocide, economic collapse etc. The crimes has been suffered by the World Bank
and International Monetary body is defined as crime of globalisation as they are responsible to
maintain economic balance through currency stabilization and avoid economic crisis.
Whereas the crime of powerless is committed against the vulnerable group of people
who are poor and incapable to access their right to justice. It includes child, women, poor people,
senior citizens and handicapped people who are incapable to access their right to justice. The
International Convention against taking of Hostages, 1979, protect the citizens from terror
attacks and illegal detention made by other countries. However, the transnational crime continue
examined the appropriate body of law and plays leading role in prevent, protect and secure the
8 Ponti C, 'The Review Mechanism Of The United Nations Convention Against
Transnational Organized Crime And Its Protocols' (2021) 3 Brill Research Perspectives
in Transnational Crime
9 Schloenhardt A, 'International Cooperation Under The United Nations Convention
Against Transnational Organized Crime' (2021) 3 Brill Research Perspectives in
Transnational Crime

right of its citizens. In the case of HM Treasury v Ahmed and others [2010] UKSC 2, the UK
Supreme Court held that European Convention on Human Rights has been made to secure the
citizen from threat of internation terror attacks and ensure safety to people.
CONCLUSION
From this above report, it has been concluded that transnational crime is a serious issue
which are facing by the modern world. The government institution and legislative body are
working together to address the available information and powers that are responsible to cause
threat to the society. The UK legal system also plays crucial role in determining the domestic and
transnational crime and enforcing the strict penalties on wrong doer. The dynamic social culture
increases the scope of transnational crime and forced the UK government to comply with the
International Convention to maintain harmony and peace in the society.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al-Rashidi K, and Walker C, 'Extradition Between Kuwait And The UK: New Dispositions, Old
Doubts' (2021) 66 International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice
BEKH O, 'THE CURRENT STATE AND SOME AREAS OF COMBATING
TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME' [2020] Scientific Journal of Public and
Private Law
Chan F and others, 'Understanding Transnational Bribery: A Corporate Crime Framework'
(2021) 75 Crime, Law and Social Change
Gravelle J, and Rogers C, 'Initiating Customer/Police Interaction In The UK: Early Insights
From Research' (2012) 40 International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice
Mejía T, 'The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime 20 Years
From Its Adoption' (2021) 3 Brill Research Perspectives in Transnational Crime
O'Keefe R, 'The Crime Of Aggression And National Law: The UK' [2019] SSRN Electronic
Journal
Ponti C, 'The Review Mechanism Of The United Nations Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime And Its Protocols' (2021) 3 Brill Research Perspectives in
Transnational Crime
PUTRANTI I, 'SEPAKUNG VILLAGE: MICRO RESILIENCE IN BORDERLESS ERA'
(2022) 12 BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AND MANAGEMENT
Ruggiero V, 'The Crimes Of The Powerful: Between Force And Consensus' (2021) 10 Social
Sciences
Schloenhardt A, 'International Cooperation Under The United Nations Convention Against
Transnational Organized Crime' (2021) 3 Brill Research Perspectives in Transnational
Crime
Sheptycki J, 'Transnational Crime And Transnational Policing' (2007) 1 Sociology Compass
Tennant I, and Mahadevan P, 'The Implementation Review Mechanism Of The UN Convention
Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)' (2021) 3 Brill Research
Perspectives in Transnational Crime