The EAW is one of the most important tools for cross-border law enforcement in the EU’s armory. Its practical significance is highlighted by a number of ongoing cases, such as the proceedings brought against the alleged saboteurs of the Nord Stream pipelines: Whereas one suspect was successfully handed over from Italy to Germany, the handover from Poland of someone else accused of the same crime was refused. Situations like these make it clear how important it is to have a standardized set of reliable rules for judicial cooperation in Europe.
This is where the new EU project “Mutual Recognition and Detention Conditions” comes in, as it will be investigating how the EAW and other law enforcement tools at EU level can be applied effectively and uniformly while also respecting fundamental rights. The EAW has largely replaced the traditional extradition process between EU member states. It is designed to enable individuals who have been accused or already convicted of a crime to be handed over to another member state faster and more easily.
In practice, however, there are some tough decisions to be weighed up: For instance, a handover cannot be allowed to result in people being exposed to inhumane or degrading detention conditions in the country to which they are transferred. Yet there is also a need to make sure that differences in national procedures or standards do not prevent serious crimes from being prosecuted effectively. “European law enforcement relies on mutual trust among member states, but this trust needs clear benchmarks under the rule of law,” explains the project’s coordinator Professor Martin Böse from the University of Bonn. “We want to help ensure that courts scrutinize detention conditions closely without surrendering their capacity to act.”
Upholding fundamental rights versus effective law enforcement
The project is taking the case-law of the European Court of Justice as its starting point. This has established that the handover of a suspect based on an EAW can be refused if there are systemic shortcomings in detention conditions in the country making the request and the person concerned would be in real danger of suffering inhumane or degrading treatment. Investigating whether or not this would be the case is challenging in practice. It can delay handover proceedings and result in prolonged detention and is not always handled in the same way by individual member states. This runs the risk of people being wrongly handed over or, conversely, a lawful handover request being refused.
As well as looking at the EAW itself, therefore, the research project is also considering possible alternatives such as transferring powers to enforce the law and execute sentences or bringing in cross-border measures to avoid pretrial detention. The aim is to come up with some legal and practical recommendations to guide courts and judicial authorities in Europe. Says Böse: “Rather than being about playing the protection of fundamental rights off against law enforcement, it’s a question of keeping both objectives in mind at once: Europe needs a criminal justice system that works—as well as clear boundaries wherever human rights are under threat.”
Partners from academia and the judicial system
The District Court of Amsterdam, the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin in Poland and University Paris Nanterre in France are also involved in the project alongside the University of Bonn. The management team, which is made up of the University of Bonn and the District Court of Amsterdam, is responsible for analyzing the European legal framework, devising the questionnaire for the country reports, coordinating the research work and writing the final report with recommendations. A body consisting of 23 practitioners from other EU member states is also being set up to ensure that the results of the project will actually be able to be harnessed Europe-wide.