Düsseldorf, 24. January 2015 – German Defence Counsel Dr. Martin Rademacher on the European Arrest Warrant
The European arrest warrant was made to substitute the extradition of detainees within the European territory with a simple „handover“. However, the conditions of the prisons in some of the member states of the European Union vary significantly and are in part completely unacceptable. We discussed this subject with defence counsel, Dr. Martin Rademacher.
J o u r n a l: Which European countries come to mind when you hear mention of unacceptable conditions within their prisons?
M a r t i n R a d e m a c h e r: On the one hand the Eastern European countries like Bulgaria and Rumania, then, in my experience also France, Greece and Italy. The prisons in many European countries are terribly overcrowded.
J o u r n a l: Are you able to prevent extradition within Europe by revealing the catastrophic conditions of their prisons to the courts here in Germany?
M a r t i n R a d e m a c h e r: It is difficult. For example, last year the Higher Regional Court in Bremen rejected a plea for extradition to Bulgaria, because the conditions of the prisons in Bulgaria do not meet the minimal standards set by international law. Soon thereafter, however, in a different case, the Higher Regional Court in Braunschweig granted extradition. Interestingly, last year, not a single request for extradition to France or Italy was denied by the Geman courts for reasons based on local prison conditions, which are also partly at crisis point.
J o u r n a l: In other words you can try but it ultimately depends on the ruling of the courts?
M a r t i n R a d e m a c h e r: There are cases where it is certainly possible to prevent extradition. Formal omissions or flaws in the content of the European arrest warant often lead to the inadmissibility of a claim for extradition. Furthermore, the often complicated representation of the statute of limitation can help or in some cases the initiation of a domestic preliminary investigation against the accused. There are numerous possibilities to prevent the enforcement of extradition proceedings.
On the other hand there are also cases where it is clear that the request for extradition will be granted and one can merely try to find alternatives for avoiding the torture of the „customary“ extradition.
J o u r n a l: Please elaborate. Extradition procedings often start with the arrest of the accused. Following extradition, the accused is then imprisoned in the country requesting extradition.
M a r t i n R a d e m a c h e r: The mere process of extradition can easily add an additional six months“ imprisonment or more before the accused has the opportunity to have his/her case heard before the court. This is not even taking into account the additional strain of the transportation of the prisoner, which is often arduous and complicated.
J o u r n a l: In such cases is the avoidance of extradition arrest realistic?
M a r t i n R a d e m a c h e r: Even if there is little doubt about the likelihood of extradition, we are seeing increasingly more public prosecutors and courts, which summon up so much trust in the accused and in the accused“s defence counsel, that they are willing to support alternative proposals. The first step is to suspend the enforcement of the extradition warrant to provide the accused with the opportunity to settle his case in the country which has filed the request for extradition By the way, the majority of EU countries honour the reparation of damages.
J o u r n a l: What have your experiences been with individual member states ?
M a r t i n R a d e m a c h e r: In the interim I have had many positive experiences in Poland and have defended many cases which have lead to the release of my client. In some cases I have also had good experiences in Rumania, England and Portugal, where we have managed to achieve the annulment of a European arrest warrant while the extradition proceedings here in Germany are ongoing. It gives me strength to know that in some cases, despite a European arrest warrant, there is an alternative to extradition.
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