| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.14, 14.4.05 |
| Publication Date | 14/04/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 14/04/05 The European Commission wants to introduce cross-border recognition of supervision orders as an alternative to locking up alleged criminals before their trials. In a draft proposal, the EU executive urges that remanding suspects in pre-trial custody should be "the exception rather than the norm" because the European Convention on Human Rights regards the presumption of innocence until proven guilty as a basic tenet of justice. The Commission recommends a system whereby the judicial authorities in one EU country would recognise a supervision order issued in another. In cases where a national of one member state is alleged to have committed a crime in another, the latter's authorities would be in charge of issuing the order. Authorities in the suspect's home country would then be responsible for ensuring that it is complied with - for example, that the suspect reported regularly to police or did not leave a designated area without permission. The authorities in the home country would be obliged to report any breaches of an order's conditions to those in the state that issued it. The draft proposal has been circulated to EU diplomats handling justice and home affairs in the past two weeks. Commission officials admit that several questions still have to be resolved before a text can be published. Many of these are about the relationship between the supervision orders and the European arrest warrant, which was meant to speed up extradition proceedings between EU countries. In particular, it is not clear what would occur if an extradition request were issued for someone subject to a supervision order. Juliano Franco from the Academy of European Law (ERA) in Trier said pre-trial detention was "overused" in Europe, often because of a fear of those arrested outside their home country. "I would welcome a system where that fear could be overcome," he said. But Stephen Jakobi from Fair Trials Abroad said that the Commission's proposal did not tackle what he called "in-built bias against foreigners". Jakobi added that he had come across many cases where EU citizens would not have been held before trial if they had been natives of the member state holding them. Under the scheme proposed by the Commission, judges may dictate more onerous conditions for a foreigner to comply with than they would for compatriots. To prevent such discrimination, Jakobi advocates a 'Eurobail' scheme, where the authorities in a country where a suspect is arrested would only examine the gravity of the offence involved and then transfer the suspect to their home country. A court in the suspect's country of residence would be in charge of ensuring that the suspect was returned to the other state for trial. Rates of pre-trial detention vary widely across the EU. Statistics gathered by the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College, London University, show that at 49%, Luxembourg has the highest proportion of pre-trial detainees in its overall prison population, followed by Belgium at 39%, and Italy and France at 36%. Finland and Cyprus have the lowest rates (13%), followed by England and Wales (15%). Of the ten countries that joined the EU last year, Latvia has by far the highest rate of pre-trial detention (35%). Two years ago, the rate was 10% higher. Anhelita Kamenska from the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies believes knowledge of international standards is still lacking among her country's judiciary. "Much of this is the Soviet legacy," she added. "Judges and prosecutors still feel that pre-trial detention has a punitive function." It would be positive, she said, if the Commission's proposal sparked a debate on alternatives. Article reports on a draft proposal from the European Commission suggesting to introduce cross-border recognition of supervision orders as an alternative to locking up alleged criminals before their trials. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
