European Arrest Warrants are ‘misused’, says FTI

Law Society Gazette - Jonathan Rayner

Mismanagement of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has led to a ‘no questions asked’ extradition regime with severe human and financial costs to those charged with minor offences, according to a report by Fair Trials International (FTI).

The report claims that EAWs are routinely issued for minor offences without regard to whether extradition is proportionate. It points to Poland, which has a criminal code that requires all offences to be prosecuted, no matter how minor, which issued 4,844 EAWs in 2009 compared with the UK’s 220.

The report said: ‘Despite our serious concerns about the operation of the EAW, we recognise the need for an efficient system of extradition… Unfortunately, there has not been sufficient assessment of the human and financial costs of this “no questions asked” regime.’