As the Court of Justice has consistently acknowledged (in, for example, its judgment of 11 November 1981, in Case 203/80, Casati , point 27, and its judgment of 16 June 1998, Case C-226/97, Lemmens , Reports, point 19), criminal law and procedure do not, as a general rule, fall within the province of the European Community (i.e. 'under the first pillar'), because there has been no explicit transferral of general competence in criminal matters.
As the Court of Justice has consistently acknowledged (in, for example, its judgment of 11 November 1981, in Case 203/80, Casati , point 27, and its judgment of 16 June 1998, Case C-226/97, Lemmens , Reports, point 19), criminal law and procedure do not, as a general rule, fall within the province of the European Community (i.e. 'under the first pillar'), because there has been no explicit transferral of general competence in criminal matters.