Is mutual recognition a viable general path for cooperation?

In 1999, mutual recognition was declared to be the cornerstone of judicial cooperation not only, but also in criminal matters within the European Union (EU). Often this method seems to be regarded as a result of the close European integration and thus an invention of the EU. This article tries to show that even in traditional judicial assistance cases a similar trend could be witnessed and that mutual recognition is also applied – to a more or less intensive degree – in other regions and also in other areas of the law. In the author’s view, mutual recognition is a dynamic concept; its potential degree of realization depends on a number of contextual preconditions. As a result of the comparative view, he maintains that an ‘ordre public-proviso’ is a necessary ‘outlet’ and not at all outdated, especially in the context of judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU