The legal frameworks in Europe are not only different in their regulation of behaviours, but they do not even need to contemplate the same types for a given action or its consequence. In the context of the European Union it is often compensated by the Community Law. But in the case of criminal and civil law States do not only keep full sovereignty, but they might even include different legal systems, as it would be the case for Germany and UK, and in a smaller extent, of Spain. So we find an international phenomenon for which, in contrast with other modern legal challenges, an international common regulation would imply changing the legal traditions of countries with institutions that come as far in time as Roman law. So the first step is to frame graffiti in the legal systems of the studied States.

There is no single interpretation of the graffiti phenomenon. Jurists are always asked to give a uni-vocal interpretation and thus facing a hard task. The consideration of graffiti as a “social movement”, “art”, “neighbourhood culture” by the painters, and an “antisocial behaviour”, “infraction”, “felony”, “misdemeanour”, by the public authorities, gives a paradoxical starting point.

In consequence, from a legal point of view this activity involves some different traditional institutions that are not usually studied together, and represent a challenge to the law and so to the researcher.

For more information on the legal frameworks, please see in resources: Graffolution D2.2 Regional, cultural, ethical, privacy and legal aspects and influence factors report.