The key principles and mechanisms of the MEDICRIME Convention were presented to a multidisciplinary group of students from Northeastern University (Boston) – College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, visiting the Council of Europe.

The presentation was an opportunity to raise awareness among students of the challenges posed by the falsification of medical products – whether medicines or medical devices – and similar offences that threaten public health. At the heart of this meeting, the MEDICRIME Convention was highlighted as the first and only binding international legal instrument criminalizing these practices and providing a global framework to prevent and combat them.

The main strengths of the Convention, including its cross-cutting scope in criminal law, its recognition of victims' rights, the obligation for States Parties to strengthen their national legislation, and the promotion of international cooperation, were then detailed.

This presentation enabled students to deepen their understanding of the issues related to trafficking and counterfeiting of medical products and to discover how international instruments such as the MEDICRIME Convention provide concrete and sustainable responses to this global scourge.