Youth justice or criminal law? The scope of ‘judicial cooperation in criminal matters’

This article examines the underexplored intersection between youth justice procedures in the Member States and the evolving scope of EU criminal law in the context of mutual recognition and procedural rights instruments. It highlights the persistent ambiguity surrounding the definition of ‘criminal proceedings’ and ‘criminal responsibility’ under EU law, an ambiguity that becomes acutely problematic when applied to the diverse and often non-criminal classifications of juvenile justice across national legal systems. Departing from the premise that such notions require autonomous interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Union, as previously exemplified in Bonda and aligned with Directive 2016/800 and the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant, the article advances a contextually and teleologically grounded approach to the interpretation of these autonomous concepts. Building on doctrinal and jurisprudential foundations, it proposes a material scope-based test, echoing the Engel criteria, to determine the applicability of EU instruments to youth justice procedures. The analysis demonstrates that this approach not only reinforces legal coherence and mutual trust among Member States but is indispensable to the effective protection of minors’ procedural rights. It argues that failing to interpret EU criminal law instruments substantively risks legal fragmentation, facilitates rights evasion through national semantic classifications and undermines the effectiveness of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Ultimately, the article makes the normative claim that a material, child-focused understanding of ‘criminal matters’ is essential to uphold the principle of the best interests of the child and to preserve the integrity of EU criminal justice cooperation.