Brussels, 13/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 April, the European Commission issued a report in which it adds to the criticism which has been made of the European arrest warrant. Stating, as the Council of Europe did a few weeks ago, that although it is effective in fighting cross-border crime, the tool is sometimes used ill-advisedly by the member states. In its report, the Commission notes that some cases in which the European arrest warrant has been used have brought forth issues regarding the respect of fundamental rights. It has also been argued that some member states may have used the tool excessively and without any real justification.
The European arrest warrant, which entered into force in 2004, allows crime suspects to be extradited from one country of the Union to another. Dozens of criminals suspected of drugs trafficking, murder and sexual crimes against children, for example, have been sent back to the United Kingdom by Spain. “But even if this system, which is based on mutual trust between the national legal systems, has seen many successes”, it appears that “the member states of the EU could improve its functioning”. The member states must use the European arrest warrant in “full respect of fundamental rights and, in every case, taking account of the real need for extradition”, the Commission writes.
Due to their “important fundamental rights implications, European arrest warrants should not be issued mechanically, automatically, for crimes that are not very serious, such as bicycle theft”, said Viviane Reding, the commissioner for fundamental rights. At a conference of the S&D Group of the European Parliament on mafia and organised crime in February, the head of Eurojust, Aled Williams, also spoke out against the fact that the states are issuing too many mandates “for trivial reasons”, which stops the European agency from focusing more on criminal organisations.
It is worth noting that between 2005 and 2009, the member states issued 54,689 mandates, which led to the extradition of 11,630 suspects. Over this same period, the arrest warrant visibly speeded up the transfer between countries of the Union of suspected criminals, the Commission notes. It indicates that before the European arrest warrant was set in place, the extradition procedure took on average one year, “which has now been cut to 16 days when the suspect agrees to surrender, or 48 days when they do not”.
But improvements are still needed. The member states must ensure that “the arrest warrant system is not undermined by multiple arrest warrants for offences that are not very serious”. Before issuing an arrest warrant, the “member state judicial authorities should consider the seriousness of the offence, length of sentence and the costs and benefits of executing an arrest warrant”, the Commission continues, adding that the principle of proportionality must be carefully respected. The Commission goes on to recommend improving “the training of the police and legal authorities and legal professionals over this issue”, making sure that the collection of statistics on the arrest warrant in the member states is improved and that “all possible options to remedy the shortcomings are observed”. (S.P./transl.fl)