the EU Member States are equally authoritative, which leads to serious compli- tions. After all, translations are always inferior to the original texts. The conclusion by Advocate-General Kokott in the Pupino case may lead to a practical solution: just use the language/text that reflects the intention of the drafters of the Fra- work Decision most clearly, regardless of the ‘nationality’ of the case. In the case of the EAW Framework Decision the French text is more authentic than any other text: reliable information from Brussels has taught me that all language versions have been translated from the French. Moreover, the negotiations on this Fra- work Decision were mostly in French. And so I can now return, with a clear conscience, to my natural state: easygoing if not actually lazy. Judge Rob Blekxtoon VII Chapter 0 INTRODUCTION We, Europeans, are participants in the shaping of Europe as a political, cultural and constitutional community, a common home in a messy world. We, lawyers, are responsible for channelling this process and for guarding balance. The balance we have to guard is between the three identities of every European citizen: his or her European, national and individual identity. For our European identity to bloom, it is necessary that our national and individual identities also bloom.

This book examines the European arrest warrant as a successful and effective instrument for judicial co-operation in criminal matters in the European Union. Providing comprehensive content and combining theoretical and practical aspects, it covers all of the major issues surrounding the European arrest warrant. The book analyses its genesis, main features, surrender procedure, case law, implementation and the latest developments. Instead of focusing solely on a criminal law approach, it also considers the subject from the perspective of European Union law and constitutional law.

This book examines in detail, the practice and procedure surrounding the European arrest warrant and its application in Ireland. Surrender under the European Arrest Warrant Act, 2003 has replaced extradition under Parts II and III of the Extradition Act, 1965 as the principal mode of extradition in Europe. The 2003 Act has been operational since 2004 and there are now in excess of 100 written decisions in relation to its operation. A significant number of decisions have finally made the way to the Supreme Court as a result of which many issues can now be regarded as reasonably well settled law for the first time. In addition, there have been a number of recent decisions from the European Court of Justice in relation to the manner in which the Framework Decision ought to be approached by domestic courts in construing domestic legislation. The number of applications under the 2003 Act has roughly doubled each year and is likely to continue to increase as EU Member States attempt to implement the new procedures in place.

Under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) system, Member States of the European Union are under the obligation to arrest and surrender individuals upon the request of judicial authorities of other Member States. In doing this, it is important that human rights are respected and that there is room for national peculiarities. Awareness of what unites the Member States as well as respect for what makes them different, are prerequisites for a fruitful cooperation. This book will be a useful tool for those involved as practitioners in cooperating under the EAW scheme, e.g. judicial authorities, judges, and counsel representing and advising those who are subject to surrender. Moreover, it will evoke academic interest for its information on EAW practice. The reader will find comments on the various stages of the surrender procedure in a chronological order, starting with the content of the European Arrest Warrant, continuing with the refusal grounds, and ending with the consequences of surrender. The scope of the book goes beyond the frontiers of the European Union. Two chapters deal with other (regional) extradition systems: the one of the Nordic countries and the one of the United States. Nico Keijzer is a former justice in the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, and emiritus Professor of international criminal law at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Elies van Sliedregt is Professor of criminal law at the VU University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The subject of "international extradition" is not independently taught in legal education programs around the world, yet extradition remains today the most significant form of mutual assistance in criminal matters between States. This book provides a concise and clear description of extradition law and procedure based on a number of key principles and concepts (double criminality, rule of speciality, assurances) drawn from domestic extradition statutes, bilateral and multilateral treaties. It then outlines 35 well-known extradition cases, in which suspects, accused and convicted persons fought the extradition requests by invoking certain grounds for refusal of surrender (human rights violations, unfairness of trial in the requesting country, excessive punishment, etc). For each of these cases, an outline of the facts, the outcome of the case, and the legal arguments of the parties is provided. The book is ideal for legal practitioners who wish to familiarise with the law and practice of extradition litigation around the world and to learn about the best available strategies to effectively assist clients in extradition cases.

Since the early 1990s, cross-border police and judicial cooperation has become a very important domain of the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty – if accepted by all the Member States – will certainly be a major stimulus to its further development in the field of internal security as well as in the field of external policy. In any event, the recent proposal for a new third comprehensive policy programme with regard to the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice – the so-called Stockholm Programme – foreshadows some of the changes the Brussels institutions and the Member States would like to embrace in the coming years. This book contains the contributions of scholars and practitioners to a conference on the future of police and judicial cooperation in the European Union that took place in November 2008 at Tilburg University. Referring to what has been achieved in this domain since the Treaty of Maastricht, these papers not only assess the proposals that have been put forward in successive policy documents relating to the Stockholm Programme, but they also pinpoint to the ongoing problems in the theory and practice of police and judicial cooperation within the European Union and to the ways in which these questions could best be solved.

"This report presents the results of the research project 'EU-Wide Letter of Rights in Criminal Proceedings: Towards Best Practice'. In this study information has been gathered on the way suspects in the EU Member States are informed in writing of their rights in criminal proceedings. Subsequently a normative framework has been developed based on the jurisprudence of the ECtHR to establish standards and a legal basis for information that should be given to the suspect in the initial phase of police investigations. Finally a model has been developed for an EU-wide Letter of Rights to be applicable throughout the EU that can function as an inspiration for initiatives on the national level as well as on the EU level. The book provides the complete research results in its annexes and an insight into the way suspects are informed of their rights throughout the EU."--Publisher.

National Courts and EU Law examines both how and why national courts and judges are involved in the process of legal integration within the European Union. As well as reviewing conventional thinking, the book presents new legal and empirical insights into the issue of judicial behaviour in this process. The expert contributors provide a critical analysis of the key questions, examining the role of national courts in relation to the application of various EU legal instruments.

One of the most dynamic areas of EU law since the great changes brought to the EU constitutional order by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 has been cooperation in the fields of policing and criminal justice. Both fields have already been the subject of substantial legislative effort in the EU and an increasing amount of judicial activity in the European Court of Justice. In 2007 - after the Constitutional Treaty of 2004 failed - the new Reform Treaty planned very substantive changes to these policies. Bringing together a wide-ranging set of topics and contributors, this book enables readers to understand these changes by examining three key questions: how did we get to the Reform Treaty; what have been - and still are - the key struggles in competence; and how do the changes fit into the transformation of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU?

A practical tool for legal professionals who wish to strengthen their skills in applying the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in their daily work This is the second and expanded edition of a handbook intended to assist judges, lawyers and prosecutors in taking account of the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols (“the European Convention”) – and more particularly of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights – when interpreting and applying codes of criminal procedure and comparable or related legislation. It does so by providing extracts from key rulings of the European Court and the former European Commission of Human Rights that have determined applications complaining about one or more violations of the European Convention in the course of the investigation, prosecution and trial of alleged offences, as well as in the course of appellate and various other proceedings linked to the criminal process.