Strasbourg, 20/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - In the plenary session in Strasbourg last Wednesday a large majority of MEPs backed moves to simplify the transfer of sentenced persons, a proposal initially made by Austria, Finland and Sweden. The report by Ionnis Varvitsiotis (EPP-ED, Greece), which was adopted by 484 votes to 53 with 9 abstentions, seeks to simplify the process of transfer of sentenced persons to their state of origin or to the state where they live permanently and where there appears to be a greater likelihood of rehabilitation. The report contains a series of proposals. MEPs wanted first of all to ensure that the sentenced person is not tried for acts other than that for which he/she is serving his/her sentence, and secondly that he/she will not be doubly punished for the same crime. MEPs wanted, too, to take account of the vulnerability of the people involved, providing for possible compensation proceedings, and their right to be informed of the outcome of the legal proceedings and to take part in person, a right which is removed if the sentenced person is being transferred elsewhere. According to the EP, it is unacceptable for the issuing State to have the right of amnesty, pardon or review if the sentenced person has been transferred to the executing State, since the law of that State would then apply. In this case the issuing State should consult with the executing State. These proposals “strengthen our efforts for the rehabilitation of sentenced persons in society,” said Mr Varvitsiotis, welcoming this further step “towards the convergence of Criminal Law in the EU”. At the last Justice and Home Affairs Council, ministers failed to reach agreement on this proposal, with no common definition of “legal, usual place of residence” being arrived at (see EUROPE 9203). Another issue, which could be raised by Germany, concerns the relinquishment of the monitoring of dual criminal liability for a list of 32 infringements, taken up in the framework decision on the European arrest warrant.