Seminar Locations.
EAW AWARE: First Seminar on the European Arrest Warrant and Conditions of Detention, Bremen/Germany, 24-26 October 2019
On 24 to 26 October 2019, the Higher Regional Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) in Bremen/Germany, together with the Bremen Ministry of Justice and Constitution, held a three-day seminar as part of an EU Justice Programme-funded series of three seminars looking at use of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW AWARE). The seminar in Bremen was attended by 38 European judicial and legal practitioners and academics from eight EU Member States.
The purpose of the seminar series is to incorporate different perspectives stemming from practitioner experience in order to address the challenges of EAW implementation and policy: decision-making information, use of existing provisions in national law, and informal judicial cooperation. A particular focus is on the obligations of the executing Member State courts to examine the detention conditions in the issuing Member States, alongside broader issues involving the protection of human rights of the requested person.
Following a welcome from Secretary of State for Justice for the Federal State of Bremen, Björn Tschöpe, practitioners heard from Daniel Burdach from the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding the ECtHR’s rulings on the standards for prison detention conditions under the European Convention of Human Rights. Raising awareness among national executing judges for existing tools and the ECtHR’s benchmark criteria are key goals of the EAW AWARE seminars. Mr. Burdach presented a detailed review of cases pertaining to the major problems of overcrowding and inappropriate detention facilities; he concluded by listing existing resources on the ECtHR factsheets and on the HUDOC database. In the afternoon session, Dr. Klaus Schromek, Presiding Judge at the Bremen Higher Regional Court of Appeal, provided European practitioners with broader context on criminal procedure in Germany. His colleague Dr. Ole Böger focused on the relevance of human rights protection in application of the EAW in the case law of European and domestic courts. He highlighted that both the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – especially in the Aranyosi and Căldăraru case (C-404/15), which had been initiated by a referral for a preliminary decision by the Bremen Higher Regional Court of Appeal – and the German Federal Constitutional Court require the courts of the executing Member States to ensure the human rights protection of the requested person in the issuing Member State. Dr. Böger also discussed remaining issues concerning the precise scope and content of these duties on the part of the executing Member States’ courts, also referring to practical solutions for the future, e.g., enhanced databases and the facilitation of closer co-operation between judicial authorities of the issuing and executing Member States.
The first day of the seminar was concluded by Dr. Ralf Riegel, Head of the International Criminal Law Division at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, who led an engaging debate on the need for reform of the national and the international basis in EAW proceedings. Dr. Riegel tackled practical concerns of EAW proceedings both in the issuing state (such as use of a central EAW authority) and in the executing state (for instance, at which point and under what conditions representation by legal counsel should be organised).
Bearing in mind this focus on detention conditions, participants made onsite visits to both Bremen Correctional Facility and Bremen Secure Treatment Unit of the Psychiatric Treatment Centre. They heard first-hand accounts from staff, and the visits fueled the discussion that detention conditions are not to be understood as either an “east vs. west” issue or as the fault of unwilling regimes. Instead, improved conditions depend on investment and the capacity for renovation, and improvements must often accommodate changing factors such as new demographics. All this within the uniquely challenging requirements of a secure environment. The onsite visits ultimately led to a better understanding of the human rights relevance of detention conditions, with a particular emphasis on the need for open communication between the relevant authorities ‒ in the European spirit of mutual trust and cooperation.
Additional afternoon sessions were conducted, according to a prioritised agenda, including the following:
- Analysis of the German Puigdemont case and its reception in Spain (Mr. Florentino Ruiz Yamuza, Judge in Huelva/Spain);
- Rejection of surrender and problems/practice in relation to the enforcement of foreign sentences in Germany (Mr. Christian Schierholt, Chief Senior Public Prosecutor, Celle/Germany);
- Extradition and Fair Trial, focusing on the ECJ’s judgment in “LM” (C-216/18) and its reception in EU Member States from a comparative law perspective (Mr. Thomas Wahl, Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg/Germany);
- The perspective of suspects and lawyers on extradition proceedings, with a focus on possibilities for avoiding detention (Dr. Anna Oehmichen, defence lawyer from Knierim & Kollegen, Mainz/Germany).
By bringing users of the EAW tool together with such a diverse, practical agenda, these seminars are designed to support, discuss, and build mutual trust and recognition of decisions between neighbouring European judiciaries and to promote consistent use of European bodies. The second seminar will take place in Bucharest/Romania from 23 to 27 March 2020 and the third in Lisbon/Portugal from 28 September to 2 October 2020. Persons and institutions interested in the material developed during EAW AWARE are warmly encouraged to get in touch with Rhianon Williams (rhianon.williams@justiz.bremen.de ).
EAW Seminar: Bucharest
EAW AWARE Second Seminar in Bucharest, Romania was due to take place in March 2020, with some participants combining this event with a training from a sister DG Justice Project, PONT, on Framework Decisions 947 and 829.
However, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the conference was postponed whilst there was still hope that this might take place face to face during the project lifetime, then replaced with an online conference once it became clear that this would not be possible.
The conference took place on 23rd April 2021 to an audience of judges and public prosecutors from 6 EU Member States. The presenters gave an overview of Romanian use of EAW, of prison conditions as these link to extradition to Romania and of wider points of EAW implentation, in which participants had expressed an interest during feedback.
So as to make the most of the flexibilty of the online environment, and to bring some 'added value' to EAW AWARE participants, we teamed up with the publication NJECL, which had recently released a publication on BREXIT and extradition, which also covered prison conditions. Therefore, the EAW AWARE seminar took place in the morning of April 23rd, and in the afternoon our participants joined 100 British and European experts and participants to discuss this futher topic of interest.
You have a full overview of the content and case studies presented during the second EAW AWARE seminar in the Ezine.
Presenters at EAW AWARE Online 09:30-13:00
Judge Diana Epure – Judge & Head of Service, European Affairs, International Relations and Programmes Service at the Superior Council of Magistracy of Romania.
Judge Florentio Gregorio RUIZ YAMUZA – Judge Appeal Court of Huelva in Spain, and author on articles of double criminality and mutual recognition of EAW tool.
Judge Amelia Onisor – Presiding Judge in Romania Appeal Court, directly responsible for European Arrest Warrant decisions and member of EuRoQuod, a network of Romanian expert practitioners available to be consulted on EU law.
Judge Ruxandra GHINESCU – Judge and Head of Department, International Relations and Programmes Services at the Superior Council of Magistracy of Romania.
Dr. Thomas Wahl – Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Criminal Law and Managing Editor of EUCRIM. Mr Wahl focuses on the legal instruments adopted at the level of the European Union and the Council of Europe that harmonize criminal law, foster mutual cooperation and prevent crime.
Presenters at EAW AWARE and NJECL event 13:30-16:00
Dr. Anna Oehmichen – EAW AWARE Participant, practicing lawyer at Knierim & Kollegen in Germany and a member of the ECBA’s working group on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and a member of the Fair Trial International Legal Experts Advisory Panel (LEAP).
Sören Schomburg, Partner at Ufer Knauer Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB is the responsible partner for cases in the field of commercial criminal law, criminal tax law, international criminal law and extradition law.
Edward Grange, Partner at Corker Binning UK Ltd. and specialist in extradition and criminal law.
Ben Keith, Partner at 5SAH UK Ltd and leading barrister specialising in Extradition and International Crime, as well as dealing with Immigration, Serious Fraud, and Public law.
Constance Ascione Le Dréau Associate at Visconti and Grundler and specialized in criminal law and human rights law.
Wolfgang Schomburg, Judge at the Federal German Court of Justice and Specialized in International Criminal Law, Transnational Criminal Law, Human Rights and Mutual Cooperation in Criminal Matters.
EAW Seminar: Lisbon
EAW AWARE Third Seminar was due to take place in Lisbon, Portugal. However, it was moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.
The Seminar was opened by Pedro das Neves, who welcomed the participants, contextualised the event and introduced the speakers. Joana Apóstolo then led the presentation entitled “General overview of EAW current issues in Portugal and beyond”. At this point, the participants explored issues related to the application of EAW’s in complex surrender cases; had the opportunity to reflect on the impact of such complex cases on EAW’s overarching principles and purposes. Ultimately, the presentation sought to highlight the relevance of upholding Human Rights in complex surrender cases.
Federica Brioschi then delivered a presentation on “Monitoring detention conditions and the EAW in Italy”, which focused on current statistical and infographic data regarding the usage of the EAW in Italy, and how degrading detention conditions are flagged and followed up by Antigone Association. The presentation was complemented by video and photographic material compiled by Antigone’s own Prison Observatory, specifically focusing on the Italian context.
We went on to discuss three case studies presented by judges, prosecutors and a lawyer from the partnership countries. These are presented in detail in the Ezine for EAW AWARE Portugal Seminar.
The first of these cases was shared and explained by magistrate Inge Delissen, who went on to share a presentation anchored on the issue of temporary surrenders, as experienced by the Belgian Public Prosecution Service.
Afterwards, judge Öle Böger presented two European Court of Justice (ECJ) cases, both interlinked to issues on due process and Rule of Law in the requesting State, emphasising how Rule of Law and interpretations of justice have an impact on how the EAW instrument is implemented.
Following this presentation, judge Diana Epure went on to share a case related to the weight of national interpretations of EAW requests – further densified by the involvement of a third-national individual.
To conclude the plenary discussion session, lawyer Vânia Costa Ramos presented case studies linked to the issue of proportionality in the issuing of the EAW (and lack thereof), detention ombudsmen, information on detention conditions and assurances.
Additionally Vânia Costa Ramos also discussed the issue of detention conditions, evoking the Petrescu v Portugal case – where the Court eventually found that he had been subjected to degrading treatment for 376 non-consecutive days and to inhuman and degrading treatment for several periods – which set a precedent for case law for that issue.
Thanks to our presenters at the third EAW AWARE Seminar:
Diana Epure – Judge & Head of Service, European Affairs, International Relations and Programmes Service at the Superior Council of Magistracy of Romania.
Federica Brioschi – Researcher at Antigone Association, focusing mostly on European projects. Specialised in Human Rights.
Inge Delissen – Belgian First Deputy Public Prosecutor. Specialised in Criminal Law and Judicial Cooperation.
Joana Apóstolo – Head of the International Judicial Cooperation project portfolio at IPS_Innovative Prison Systems. Specialised in Human Rights and International Security.
Öle Böger – Judge at the Hanseatic Court of Appeal in Bremen. Specialised in Criminal Law and Judicial Cooperation.
Pedro das Neves – Chief Executive Office at IPS_Innovative Prison Systems. Specialised in criminal justice innovation and penal reform. Appointed Member (in his personal capacity) of the European Commission’s DG JUST Expert Group on European Judicial Training.
Rhianon Williams – Researcher and Project Developer at the Bremen Ministry of Justice. Specialised in Criminal Justice.
Vânia Costa Ramos – Vice-chair of the European Criminal Bar Association and managing Partner at Carlos Pinto de Abreu e Associados. Specialised in International Criminal Law and Judicial Cooperation matters.
Please get in touch (rhianon.williams@justiz.bremen.de) for further information.
