The convention sets forth legal and institutional means that the parties to the convention can use to increase their national efforts in containing organized crime and improving mutual cooperation in individual cases. Five general introductory lectures at the conference focused on an overview of the UN Transnational Crime Convention; the origin of the convention; the need for comparative research; the convention as a response to the global problem of organized crime; and the possibilities, problems, and opportunities in the fight against organized crime, with a focus on the European Union. Six papers presented at the conference addressed the contents of the convention. Issues considered were the convention as a step toward an "organized crime code," participation in an organized crime group as an international offense, the use of "container offenses" to obstruct organized crime, a European approach in obtaining evidence abroad, procedural aspects of the convention, and the prevention of organized crime. Seven papers delivered at the conference pertained to the implementation of the convention. Among the issues discussed were the sovereignty issue; shifting boundaries among states, enforcement agencies, and priorities; military police and European peace-keeping missions; concepts and actors in the implementation of the convention; some legal and criminological aspects of implementation; the prospects for the success of the convention in countering transnational organized crime; and the transition process and criminal legislation.