Over recent years most of the criminal justice systems in Europe have witnessed a tendency to enhance the role of pre-trial inquiries. Different kinds of pre-trial measures have had a heavy impact on the fundamental rights of individuals involved in criminal procedures.The book contains a comparative study of four European countries on pre-trial precautionary measures limiting personal liberty. This comparison is part of two general frameworks concerning the ECtHR case-law and the EU legislation in the field of the right to liberty and security. In its two level approach, the book provides a critical guide for understanding the most significant changes which occurred in the area of liberty and security in the pre-trial phases of criminal proceedings as well as the protection systems developed in Europe both at national and supranational level to face the new challenges of the modern criminal investigation.

Prof. Stefano Ruggeri received a Ph.D. in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa in 2004. In 2007, he habilitated as Titular Professor at the KORE University in Enna. In 2008, he was appointed Professor at the Law School of the University of Messina, where he holds the chair of Italian criminal procedure and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU.