The law which governs European arrest warrants (EAW) and the relevant procedures for the surrender of a suspect from one Member State of the European Union to another, is vastly different to the traditional extradition procedures which have long existed.
Specifically, EAW procedures are much more limited in scope and as such, there is little room to raise questions such as whether the requested person will receive a fair trial in the issuing Member State. However, there is a very strict checklist of procedural steps which must be followed by the issuing and executing Member States. Therefore, it is vital that the advocate representing the requested person is familiar with the relevant national & EU law and all relevant procedural steps.
There are also very strict time-limits in place so as to ensure that: (a) a judgement in the executing Member State on whether a requested person should be surrendered to the issuing Member State is delivered quickly; and (b) to ensure that, in the event that a decision is made to surrender the requested person, they are handed over to the issuing Member State as soon as possible.
As mentioned above, there are only a handful of considerations that could lead to a Member State court refusing to execute a EAW. These include but are not limited to:
(a) Double Criminality - The offence the requested person is being sought for is a criminal offence in the executing Member State (although this does not apply to a range of very serious offences such as terrorism, serious offences against the person such as murder, serious fraud and more).
(b) That the initial warrant of arrest is issued by a judicial authority as per the European Court of Justice's case-law on the matter.
(c) That the EAW and accompanying materials are translated.
(d) If the EAW has been issued in order to punish the requested person due to their sex, religion, race, origin, language, political ideology or sexual orientation.
The above list is not exhaustive.
In light of the above, a requested person looking to challenge the execution of a EAW, must act swiftly in appointing legal counsel. It is vital to point out that the requested person also has the right to appoint a lawyer in the issuing Member State too. These procedures are usually dealt with swiftly and thus equally fast reactions are necessary by those looking to enact their rights under the relevant EU & national legislation.
Dimitris Lochias*
Advocate - Legal Consultant
*Dimitris Lochias is a lawyer practicing predominantly in the criminal law and human rights issues and is a Member of the Cyprus Bar Association. He practices throughout Cyprus and in the SBA Courts of Episkopi & Dhekelia.
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