John Vervaele (1956) was honored Master of Laws (J.D./LL.M) and Master in Criminology (MA) at the University of Ghent (Belgium). Between 1980 and 1985 he was assistant researcher in criminal law and criminal procedural law at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). From 1985 till 1987 he was senior researcher at the Belgian Ministry of Justice. In 1987 he left for the Dutch Institute for Social and Economic Law Research (NISER) at the University of Utrecht. Following the successful defense of his doctorate thesis in 1988 he was in 1990 appointed Assistant Professor in criminal law and criminal procedure and secured the prestigious PIONIER subsidy of the Dutch Council for Scientific Research for the 'Enforcement of European Law' project (1991‑1997). He established in 1991 the Centre for Enforcement of European Law at the University of Utrecht and was subsequently appointed Professor/Director in Law Enforcement and European Integration in 1992. Since 1996 on he was also Professor in Economic and Financial Criminal Law at the University of Utrecht. From 2003- 2008 he was vice-dean and director of research of the Utrecht Law School. In 2006 he was nominated vice-president of Utrecht University for Latin America. From 2012 to 2023 he has been Director of Utrecht Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe (Renforce). In 2014 he was elected president of the International Association of Criminal law (AIDP). He was elected member of council of the European Law Institute (ELI) in Vienna from 2014 to 2022. In 2023 he retired and became emeritus professor at Utrecht Law School. In 2024 he was nominated as honorary president of the AIDP. He is member of the Member of the Steering Committee of ECLAN, the European Criminal Law Academic Network, Brussels. He is teaching at the College of Europe since 1996.
His main areas of teaching are criminal law and criminal procedure, economic and financial criminal law, European criminal justice, enforcement of Union law, EU law and human rights, comparative criminal justice, terrorism and criminal procedure. He has realized a lot of research in these areas, both for Dutch Departments and European Institutions and worked as well as a consultant for them.
He has been very active in the field of European criminal law both in the area of enforcement of community law and in Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Beside his scholarly work he had the lead of several research projects in the field, both for Dutch Ministries and the European Community and the European Union. M. Delmas Marty and he directed the Corpus Juris project 2000. He was also strongly involved in the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
He is regularly teaching as visiting professor in foreign universities, in Europe and overseas (US, Latin America, China), mostly topics touching upon economic and financial criminal law, European criminal law, international criminal law and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. His teaching is not limited to the University but does include regularly teaching to the judiciary.
Key publications:
Vervaele, JAE, Toward a European Reassment of Punitive Law Enforcement, in European Criminal La Review,2023, 13, 2, p. 227-267, 41 p.
Vervaele, JAE. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and its challenges, in Revista de Drept Penal, 2023, p. 7- 24, 18 p.
Luchtman, M., Ligeti K. & Vervaele, J.A.E (eds.). , The rise of EU Enforcement Agencies, Hart Publishers, 2023, 600 p.
Tosza S. & Vervaele J.A.E. (eds.) Combatting Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, Springer, 2022, 593 p.
Vervaele, JAE, La mise en œuvre du Parquet européen à la lumière du projet Corpus Juris: les nécessités d’un espace judiciaire européen, in Revue de science criminelle et de droit pénal comparé, 2022, p. 237-242, 6 p.
Vervaele JAE, Ligeti K, Klip A. Preventing and resolving conflicts of jurisdiction in EU criminal law- A European Law Institute Instrument. In ligeti K, Robinson G, editors, Preventing and resolving conflicts of Jurisdiction in EU criminal law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2019. p. 13-76
Vervaele JAE. Lawful and Fair Use of Evidence from a European Human Rights Perspective. In Giufrida F, Ligeti K, editors, Admissibility of OLAF final reports as evidence in criminal proceedings. 2019. p. 56-94
Vervaele JAE. International cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of environmental crime: Problems and challenges for the legislative and judicial authorities. Revue Internationale de Droit Penal. 2017 Feb 1;87(1):243-262.
Luchtman MJJP, Vervaele JAE. Comparison of the legal frameworks. In Investigatory powers and procedural safeguards: Improving OLAF’s legislative framework through a comparison with other EU law enforcement authorities (ECN/ESMA/ECB). Utrecht Univerity. 2017. p. 247-318
Vervaele, J.A.E./ Judicial and political accountability for criminal investigations and prosecutions by a European Public Prosecutor's Office in the EU: the dissymetry of shared enforcement. Law Enforcement by EU Authorities: Implications for Political and Judicial Accountability. editor / Miroslava Scholten; Michiel Luchtman. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017. pp. 247-271
Vervaele, J.A.E. / Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters to control (transnational) criminality. Routledge Handbook of Transnational Criminal Law. editor / Neil Boister ; Robert Currie. London & New York: Routledge, 2015. pp. 121-136.
Luchtman, Michiel; Vervaele, J.A.E. / European Agencies for Criminal Justice and Shared Enforcement (Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office). In: Utrecht Law Review. 2014; Vol. 10, No. 5. pp. 132-15.