A European arrest warrant must be considered invalid if it is not based on a national arrest warrant (or any other enforceable judicial decision having the same force), the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Wednesday 13 January (case C-414/20).
Accused of drug trafficking, the Bulgarian national MM was arrested in Spain and surrendered to the judicial authorities of his country on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) based solely on a Bulgarian arrest warrant informing him of his indictment.
The Bulgarian Specialised Criminal Court, seized by the MM, asked the Court of Justice whether, in accordance with the EU Council Framework Decision (2002/584) establishing the EAW, a European Arrest Warrant not based on a national arrest warrant (or any other judicial decision having the same force) is valid.
In its judgment, the Court answered in the negative. The national act on the basis of which the EAW against MM was issued is intended solely to notify him of the charges against him and to give him an opportunity to defend himself. It does not appear to constitute a legal basis required by EU law, which it is nevertheless for the national court to verify.
Furthermore, the European judge notes that once the requested person has been arrested and handed over to the issuing Member State, the EAW has, in principle, exhausted its legal effects. Therefore, in the absence of any European harmonisation of the conditions under which a person can be placed in provisional detention, the Court is of the opinion that it is for the competent court to determine, under Bulgarian law, what consequences the absence of a valid national arrest warrant may have on the decision to detain a person subject to criminal proceedings .
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/3slzMu6 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)