EU arrest warrant faces difficulties from go-slow states, warns Vitorino

By Martin Banks

Date: 11/03/04

ANTONIO Vitorino, the justice and home affairs commissioner, has admitted "major problems" are looming unless all member states speedily implement the European arrest warrant.

The warrant was supposed to enter into force in the 15-member bloc by 1 January, but only eight countries - the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden - met the deadline.

The seven member states that missed the date for introduction said they would do so by the end of this month.

Vitorino told European Voice he has now extended the deadline for the warrant's introduction to the end of Ireland's presidency of the EU (30 June), but conceded that any further delay beyond that could cause major practical problems.

"Clearly, there could be major problems with the practicalities involved in trying to extradite someone from one member state where the warrant has been introduced to one where it hasn't," he said.

Officials from the permanent representations of the seven laggard countries - Italy, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Greece, Austria and the Netherlands - said they expected the warrant will be transposed into their national laws in the "next few weeks".

A spokesman for Germany's EU permanent representation blamed the delays on the complex legislative structures in his country: "The legislative process in Germany is more complicated than [in] other member states, but we are doing our best to implement this proposal as soon as possible."

A spokesman at the French EU embassy said the warrant would be introduced in France's body of laws "within days".

However, further delays have once again put the spotlight on the merits of the warrant, which is designed to allow one member state's nationals to be extradited to other EU countries under a fast-track procedure.

The warrant is seen by the Commission as an important step in preventing criminals from escaping justice by going to another EU member state. It was introduced to speed up the time taken to return someone for trial abroad from 18 months to only three. It allows extradition without a court hearing.

But there is still widespread concern that citizens' right to a fair trial could be endangered by the removal of many of the previous extradition safeguards.

And it is claimed these fears will be magnified when the EU admits ten new members, mostly former communist countries from central and eastern Europe.

The Commission says the ten, which have come under attack by Brussels for their desperately slow pace of justice, are on track to introduce the warrant by 1 May, when they join the Union.

A spokesman for the Irish presidency said: "The accession states are expected to introduce the warrant from 1 May and our understanding is that the parliamentary process is well under way in the current member states yet to ratify it.

"We will continue to monitor the progress towards achieving this, but it would clearly be best if the warrant is implemented in all 15 as soon as possible."

But Stephen Jakobi, of UK-based campaign group Fair Trials Abroad, voiced concern about justice standards in some of the accession countries.

"Poland and Hungary have good standards but the impression we are getting is that there are a lot of problems with corruption in the judicial systems of some of the incoming states."

He also argues that the central assumption of the warrant - that the justice systems in all EU countries are equally fair - is deeply flawed.

Based on his experience of more than 1,000 cases, which have been handled by the group to assist citizens who were victims of unfair trials, Jakobi warns there is a "two-tier" system of justice in Europe.

He places the UK, Scandinavian countries, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Ireland in the "top group" of states where a warrant could work well.

But he maintains that in other states, including France, Belgium, Spain and Greece, a foreigner is almost always convicted regardless of the evidence.

The warrant extends well beyond terrorist-related cases to all offences that carry a sentence of one year or more in the country seeking an extradition.

The inclusion of offences, such as murder, grievous bodily harm, rape, arson, armed robbery, kidnapping, racketeering and trafficking in drugs or weapons, is uncontroversial.

But there are also other crimes, such as racism and xenophobia, that are interpreted differently in member states.

So far, there have been only a handful of warrants issued.

A few days after the warrant's entry into force, Spain issued the first demand, against Swedish national Michael Kurt, who was wanted in Spain for alleged drink-driving and drugs charges.

Soon afterwards, a warrant was issued in the UK against Lawrence McMillan, 52, who was wanted in Ireland for stealing Rolex watches and a yacht.

Meanwhile, the Commission was this week facing fresh demands that the warrant will not be applied against sporting events.

It follows renewed fears that Formula One motor racing team principals could face extradition in the event of a fatal incident at a grand prix.

Mindful of the manslaughter charges levelled at the Williams' team technical director Patrick Head and chief designer Adrian Newey following the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola ten years ago, team principals have again threatened to boycott races in those EU countries where governments have signed up to the warrant.

The legislation claimed its first casualty last week with the announcement that Max Mosley, president of the sport's world governing body, the FIA, has decided to move his private office fromLondon to Monte Carlo, so escaping the warrant's jurisdiction.

He said: "The warrant allows a magistrate anywhere in the EU to have a citizen arrested, extradited and delivered into custody in respect of a number of wide-ranging offences.

"The danger for motor sport is obvious. For example, following an accident, a local magistrate can order a high-profile arrest within the EU.

"Once the accused has been extradited, the magistrate may offer a choice: plead guilty in return for release and a suspended sentence or remain in custody for months until trial."

Mosley said that "despite nearly two years of lobbying, the warrant has no safeguards against such abuse".

The European Arrest Warrant was supposed to enter into force on 1 January 2004 but to date only eight Member States have met the deadline. The seven Member States that missed the date for introduction have said they will do so by the end of March 2004. António Vitorino, European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, says he will extend the deadline for the warrant's introduction to the end of Ireland's Presidency of the EU - 30 June 2004. Any delay beyond that will cause major practical difficulties.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/justice_home/fsj/criminal/extradition/fsj_criminal_extradition_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/comm/justice_home/fsj/criminal/extradition/fsj_criminal_extradition_en.htm

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