The definition of organised crime has long been the object of lively debate, at national and international level. Sociological and legal analysis has not yet led to one definitive answer to the question of what exactly 'organised crime' means. Nonetheless, many instruments adopted both at international and national levels set forth special legal regimes designed to target criminal groups featuring a stable organisation, which are perceived as particularly dangerous to society. Therefore, identifying the notion of organised crime is crucial to establishing the scope of any legal instrument...

In The Palermo Convention at Twenty: Institutional and Substantive Challenges experts with different backgrounds discuss the institutional features of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Supplementing Protocols, the developments of the treaty system and its suitability to address the multifarious forms of contemporary transnational organized crime.