A Warranted Response: Brexit, human rights and the European Arrest Warrant

Under the European Arrest Warrant procedure (EAW) EU member states are able to request convicted criminals and suspects be transferred within weeks. Once the UK leaves the EU, the EAW will no longer apply and a new arrangement will be needed.

A Warranted Response, by David Clark, argues that respect for human rights must take priority over efficiency in the post-Brexit extradition system. The report highlights numerous examples of extraditions that have failed to respect international human rights law citing police brutality, fabrication of evidence and unacceptable conditions of detention.

The report urges the government to ensure the UK’s judicial integrity and efficiency is upheld, and human rights concerns addressed through a bespoke UK-EU extradition agreement that does not simply replicate the EAW.

Recommendations include:

• Agreeing reasonable time limits for the completion of proceedings.
• Abandoning the principle of mutual recognition between justice systems. The UK should be able to require states to provide prima facie evidence of guilt and to allow courts to fully consider the human rights implications of each case.