This interdisciplinary collection considers aspects of legitimacy and trust that have been neglected in previous studies. With contributions from across the EU, the book focuses on conceptions of legitimacy linked to criminal law norms, criminalisation and sanctioning; on EU legal and policy aspects of the phenomenon; and on specific court-related issues of legitimacy and trust. The study highlights the importance of trust in legal institutions of modern democracies and suggests ideas for future research in this area to challenge ways of thinking about legitimacy.

Notes on Contributors, 1. Beyond Procedural Justice: Some Neglected Aspects of Legitimacy of Criminal Law, Policy and Justice, Part I. Legitimacy and Trust in Criminal Law and Policy: Principles and Implementation, 2. Norms, Harms and Disorder at the Border: The Legitimacy of Criminal Law Intervention through the Lens of Criminalisation Theory, 3. When Things Get Serious: Reflections on the Legitimacy of Local Administrative Sanctions in Belgium, 4. Legitimacy at Stake? Crimmigration Processes and the Criminal Justice System in the Netherlands, 5. Legitimacy and EU Criminal Law Regulation, Part II. Legitimacy and Trust in the Judiciary: Contradictions and Challenges, 6. Legitimacy and Trust-Related Issues of Judiciary: New Challenges for Europe, 7. Whose Claim is Legitimate Anyway? Negotiating Power in Inter-Agency Collaboration, 8. Mutual Recognition in EU Criminal Law and Its Effects on the Role of a National Judge, 9. Flaws and Contradictions in the Mutual Trust and Recognition Discourse: Casting a Shadow on the Legitimacy of EU Criminal Policy Making and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters?, Part III. Concluding Thoughts, 10. Diverging Perspectives, Converging Thoughts? Common Themes and Prospects in Legitimacy Research, Index