Summary
This study presents the results of a comparison of the UN Convention Against Organized Crime and relevant instruments adopted in the legal framework in the context of EU police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters and the Council of Europe. The study shows how far EU and Council of Europe initiatives in the fight against organised crime coincide with the provisions of the recent UN Convention, signed in Palermo on 12 December 2000, the first instrument of a universal character to deal comprehensively with this form of crime.