Structural Calibration in European Union Anti-Corruption Law: A Contextual Mechanism for Judicial Sentencing Individualisation

This Working Paper examines whether the conduct-based architecture of European Union anti- corruption criminal harmonisation fully articulates cumulative gravity in cases of judicially established recurrence within defined institutional contexts. Article 83(1) TFEU identifies corruption as an area of particularly serious crime with a crossborder dimension, providing the constitutional basis for minimum harmonisation of offences and sanctions. The proposed Directive on combating corruption reinforces a conduct-centred model grounded in Legality and legal certainty. The paper does not propose new criminal categories, nor does it alter offence definitions or statutory maxima. Instead, it introduces a strictly delimited structural calibration mechanism applicable exclusively at the stage of judicial sentencing individualisation, where multiple harmonised offences are proven within a defined institutional context. The objective is to enhance proportional coherence and expressive alignment between institutional recognition of structural impact and conduct-based penal design, while fully respecting legality, subsidiarity, and the minimum harmonisation framework of EU law.