Erosion of the Principle of Mutual Recognition. European Arrest Warrant and the Principle of Mutual Recognition in the Light of the Recent CJEU Rulings
Abstract
An effective implementation of mutual recognition in the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice requires mutual trust between the Member State. Mutual trust has been eroded in some Member States due to the rule of law crisis. However, it is not only the rule of law crisis, but also the departure of the Member States from the shared values of respect for fundamental rights, as well as the differences in the prosecutorial systems of individual Member States, that have caused changes in the perception of the principle of mutual recognition. This paper will examine the evolving approach to the principle of mutual recognition based on the recent Court of Justice of the European Union rulings on the European arrest warrant. The analysis concludes that the CJEU attaches more importance to the protection of the principle of mutual recognition, the prosecution of perpetrators of crime, and the unwavering presumption of respect for fundamental rights by the Member states than to the effective protection of fundamental rights.
Keywords:
EU criminal law, mutual recognition, mutual trust, European Arrest Warrant, fundamental rights, EU law, the Court of Justice of the European UnionReferences
Alegre, Susie, and Marisa Leaf. “Mutual Recognition in European Judicial Cooper¬ation: A Step Too Far Too Soon? Case Study – the European Arrest Warrant.” European Law Journal 10, no. 2 (2004): 200–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1468-0386.2004.00212.x. (Crossref)
Anagnostaras, Georgios. “Mutual confidence is not blind trust! Fundamental rights protection and the execution of the European arrest warrant: Aranyosi and Caldararu.” Common Market Law Review 53, no. 6 (2016): 1675–1704. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2016146. (Crossref)
Asp, Petter. “Mutual Recognition and the And the Development of Criminal Law Cooperation within the EU the EU.” In Harmonisation of Criminal Law in Europe, edited by Erling Johannes Husabø and Asbjørn Strandbakken, 23–40. Antwerpen–Oxford: Intersentia, 2005.
Bárd, Petra, and Wouter van Ballegooij. “Judicial Independence as a Precondition for Mutual Trust.” Verfassungsblog, April 10, 2018. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://verfassungsblog.de/judicial-independence-as-a-precondition-for -mutual-trust/.
Bárd, Petra, and Wouter van Ballegooij. “The AG Opinion in the Celmer Case: Why Lack of Judicial Independence Should Have Been Framed as a Rule of Law Issue.” Verfassungsblog, July 7, 2018. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://verfassungsblog.de/the-ag-opinion-in-the-celmer-case-why-lack-of-judicial-independence-should-have-been-framed-as-a-rule-of-law-issue.
Biernat, Stanisław, and Paweł Filipek. “The Assessment of Judicial Inde¬pendence Following the CJEU Ruling in C-216/18 LM.” In Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member State, edited by Armin von Bogdan¬dy, Piotr Bogdanowicz, Iris Canor, Christoph Grabenwarter, Maciej Tab¬orowski, and Matthias Schmidt, 403–430. Berlin: Springer, 2021. https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62317-6_16. (Crossref)
Bloks, Suzanne Andrea, and Ton van den Brink. “The Impact on National Sovereignty of Mutual Recognition in the AFSJ. Case-Study of the Euro¬pean Arrest Warrant.” German Law Journal 22, no. 1 (2021): 45–64. https:// doi.org/10.1017/glj.2020.99. (Crossref)
Cambien, Nathan. “Mutual Recognition and Mutual Trust in the Internal Mar¬ket.” European Papers 2, no. 1 (2017): 1–23.
Conway, Gerard. “Judicial Interpretation and the Third Pillar. Ireland’s Accept¬ance of the European Arrest Warrant and the Gözütok and Brügge Case.” Eu¬ropean Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 13, no. 2 (2005): 255–283. https://doi.org/10.1163/1571817054300611. (Crossref)
Dupré, Catherine. “The Rule of Law, Fair Trial and Human Dignity: The Pro¬tection of EU Values After LM.” In Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member State, edited by Armin von Bogdandy, Piotr Bogdanowicz, Iris Canor, Christoph Grabenwarter, Maciej Taborowski, and Matthias Schmidt, 431–442, Berlin: Springer, 2021. (Crossref)
Fichera, Massimo. “The European Arrest Warrant and the Sovereign State: A Marriage of Convenience?.” European Law Journal 15, no. 1 (2009): 70–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0386.2008.00451.x. (Crossref)
Fletcher, Maria, Robin Lööf, and Bill Gilmore. EU Criminal Law and Justice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008. (Crossref)
Frąckowiak-Adamska, Agnieszka. “Drawing Red Lines with No (Significant) Bites: Why an Individual Test Is Not Appropriate in the LM Case.” In Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member State, edited by Armin von Bogdandy, Piotr Bogdanowicz, Iris Canor, Christoph Grabenwarter, Maciej Taborowski, and Matthias Schmidt, 443–454. Berlin: Springer, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62317-6_18. (Crossref)
Gerard, Damien. “Mutual Trust as Constitutionalism?.” In Mapping Mutual Trust Understanding and Framing the Role of Mutual Trust in EU law, edited by Evelien Brouwer and Damien Gerard, 1–89. European University Institute: EUI WORKING PAPERS, 2016.
Grzelak, Agnieszka. „Wzajemne zaufanie jako podstawa współpracy sądów państw członkowskich UE w sprawach karnych (uwagi na marginesie ode¬słania prejudycjalnego w sprawie C-216/18 PPU Celmer) [Mutual trust as the basis for judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU (reference for a preliminary ruling in case C-216/18 PPU Celmer)],” Państwo i Prawo 10, (2018): 50–66.
Herlin-Karnell, Ester. “From Mutual Trust to the Full Effectiveness of EU Law: 10 Years of the European Arrest Warrant.” European Law Review 38, no. 1 (2013): 79–91.
Janssens, Christine. The Principle of Mutual Recognition in EU Law. Oxford: Uni¬versity Press, 2013. (Crossref)
Klip, André. “Eroding Mutual Trust in an European Criminal Justice Area without Added Value.” European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Jus¬tice 28, no. 2 (2020): 109–119. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718174-02802001. (Crossref)
Klip, André. European Criminal Law. An Integrative Approach. Cambridge–Ant¬werp–Chicago: Intersentia, 2021.
Komárek, Jan. “European Constitutionalism and the European Arrest Warrant: In Search of the Limits of ‘Contrapunctual Principles’.” Common Market Law Review 44, no. 1 (2007): 9–40. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2007006. (Crossref)
Krajewski, Michał. “Who Is Afraid of the European Council? The Court of Jus¬tice’s Cautious Approach to the Independence of Domestic Judges.” Eu¬ropean Constitutional Law Review 14, no. 4 (2018): 792–813. https://doi. org/10.1017/s1574019618000457. (Crossref)
Lagodny, Otto. Die Rechtsstellung des Auszuliefernden in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Freiburg im Braisgau: Max-Planck-Institut für Ausländisches und Internationales Strafrecht, 1987.
Łazowski, Adam. “Aranyosi and Caldararu through the Eyes of National Judges.” In The Court of Justice and European criminal law: leading cases in a contex¬tual analysis, edited by Valsamis Mitsilegas, Alberto di Martino, and Lean¬dro Mancano, 438–454. Chicago: Hart Publishing, 2019.
Miglionico, Andrea, and Francesco Maiani. “One Principle to Rule Them All? Anatomy of Mutual Trust in the Law of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.” Common Market Law Review 57, no. 1 (2020): 7–44. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2020002. (Crossref)
Mitsilegas, Valsamis. “Autonomous Concepts, Diversity Management and Mu¬tual Trust in Europe’s Area of Criminal Justice.” Common Market Law Re¬view 57, no. 1 (2020): 45–78. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2020045. (Crossref)
Mitsilegas, Valsamis. “The Constitutional Implications of Mutual Recognition in Criminal Matters in the EU.” Common Market Law Review 43, no. 5 (2006): 1277–311. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2006074. (Crossref)
Mitsilegas, Valsamis. “The European Model of Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters: Towards Effectiveness Based on Earned Trust.” Revista Brasileira de Direito Processual Penal 5, no. 2 (2019): 565–595. https://doi.org/10.22197/ rbdpp.v5i2.248. (Crossref)
Mitsilegas, Valsamis. “The Limits of Mutual Trust in Europe’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. From Automatic Inter-state Cooperation to the Slow Emergence of the Individual.” Yearbook of European Law 31, no. 1 (2012): 319–372. https://doi.org/10.1093/yel/yes023. (Crossref)
Mitsilegas, Valsamis. “The Symbiotic Relationship between Mutual Trust and Fundamental Rights in Europe’s Area of Criminal Justice.” New Journal of European Criminal Law 6, no. 4 (2015): 457–440. https:// doi.org/10.1177/203228441500600410. (Crossref)
Mitsilegas,Valsamis. EU Criminal Law. Oxford: Hard Publishing, 2009.
Mohy, Ágoston. “The Dorobantu Case and the Applicability of the ECHR in the EU Legal Order.” Pécs Journal of International and European Law, no. 1 (2020): 85–90.
Nilsson, Hans. “Mutual Trust or Mutual Mistrust?.” In Confiance Mutuelle Dans l’Espace Pénal, edited by Gilles de Kerchove and Anne Weyembergh, 29–40. Brussels: de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2005.
Ostropolski, Tomasz. „Naruszenie praw podstawowych jako przesłanka odmowy wykonania ENA – uwagi do wyroku Trybunału Sprawiedliwości z 5.04.2016 r. w sprawach połączonych C-404/15 Aranyosi i C-659/15 PPU Căldăraru [Info¬tainments of Fundamental Rights as a Ground for Refusal to Execute an EAW: Remarks on the Judgement of the CJEU of April 5, 2016 in Joined Cases C-404/15 Aranyosi and C-695/15 PPU Căldăraru].” Europejski Przegląd Sądowy, no. 11 (2016): 20–26.
Ostropolski, Tomasz. „Pojęcie organu sądowego w ramach współpracy wymia¬rów sprawiedliwości w sprawach karnych [The Notion of ‘Judicial Authority’ in Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters].” Europejski Przegląd Sądowy, no. 9 (2019): 21–30.
Ouwerkerk, Jannemieke. Quid Pro Quo?: A comparative law perspective on the mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters. Larcier: In¬tersentia, 2011.
Peers, Steve. “Mutual Recognition and Criminal Law in the European Union: Has the Council Got It Wrong?.” Common Market Law Review 41, no. 5 (2004): 5–36. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2003076. (Crossref)
Pollicino, Oresto. “European Arrest Warrant and Constitutional Principles of the Member States: A Case Law-Based Outline in the Attempt to Strike the Right Balance Between Interacting Legal Systems.” German Law Journal 9, no. 10 (2013): 1313–1355. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200000456.
Prechal, Sacha. “Mutual Trust Before the Court of Justice of the Euro¬pean Union.” European Papers 2, no. 1 (2017), 75–92. https://doi.org/10.15166/ 2499-8249/139.
Sakowicz, Andrzej. “Some Reflections on the Mutual Recognition as a Mode of Governance in EU Justice and Home Affairs.” In Current Problems of the Penal Law and the Criminology. Aktuelle Probleme des Strafrechts und der Kriminologie, edited by Emil W. Pływaczewski, 501–515. Białystok: Temi¬da 2, 2009.
Sakowicz, Andrzej. Zasada ne bis in idem w ujęciu paneuropejskim [The “ne bis in idem” Principle in Criminal Law in a Pan-European Perspective]. Bialystok: Temida 2, 2011.
Stein, Sibyl. “Ein Meilenstein für das europäische ‘ne bis in idem’.” Neue Juristi¬sche Wochenschrift, no. 16 (2003): 1162–1164.
Stressens, Guy. “The Principle of Mutual Confidence between Judicial Authori¬ties in the Area of Freedom, Justice and Security.” In L’espace pénal européen: enjeux et perspectives, edited by Gilles de Kerchove and Anne Weyembergh, 93–115. Bruxelles: Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2002.
Szilágyi, Szilárd Gáspár. “Joined Cases Aranyosi and Căldăraru. Converging Human Rights Standards, Mutual Trust and a New Ground for Postpon¬ing a European Arrest Warrant.” European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 24, no. 2–3 (2016): 197–219. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718174-24032092. (Crossref)
Thwaites, Nadine. “Mutual Trust in Criminal Matters: The Ecj Gives a First In¬terpretation of a Provision of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement. Judgement of 11 February 2003 in Joined Cases C-187/01 and C-385/01, Hüseyin Gözütok and Klaus Brügge.” German Law Journal 4, no. 3 (2003): 252–262. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200015935. (Crossref)
Thym, Daniel. “Strafklageverbrauch bei Einstellung durch die StA.” Neue Zeitschrift für Strafrecht, no. 6 (2003): 334–335.
Ventrella, Matilde. “European Integration or Democracy Disintegration in Measures Concerning Police and Judicial Cooperation?.” New Jour¬nal of European Criminal Law 4, no. 3 (2013): 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/20322844130040030. (Crossref)
Vermeulen, Gert, Wendy de Bondt, and Peter Verbeke, eds. Rethinking Interna¬tional Cooperation in Criminal Matters in The EU. Antwerpen, Apeldoorn, Portland: Maku, 2012.
Vervaele, John. “Case Law. Joined Cases C-187/01 and C-385/01, Criminal Proceedings against Hüseyin Gözütok and Klaus Brügge, Judgement of the Court of Justice of 11 February 2003.” Common Market Law Review 41, no. 3 (2004): 795–812. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2004021. (Crossref)
Vervaele, John. “The European Arrest Warrant and Applicable of Fundamental Rights in the EU.” Review of European Administrative Law 6, no. 2 (2013): 37–54.
Wahl, Thomas. “Refusal of European Arrest Warrants Due to Fair Trial In¬fringements.” Eucrim, no. 4 (2020): 321–329. https://doi.org/10.30709/eu¬crim-2020-026.
Wąsek-Wiaderek, Małgorzata. „Ryzyko naruszenia praw człowieka jako prze¬słanka odmowy wykonania europejskiego nakazu aresztowania (uwagi na tle najnowszego orzecznictwa trybunału sprawiedliwości Unii Europej¬skiej) [Risk if Human Rights Violations as a Premise for Refusal to Execute A European Arrest Warrant (Remarks Against the Background of Recent Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union)].” In Verba vol¬ant, scripta manent. Proces karny, prawo karne skarbowe i prawo wykroczeń po zmianach z lat 2015–2016. Księga pamiątkowa poświęcona Profesor Mo¬nice Zbrojewskiej, edited by Tomasz Grzegorczyk and Radosław Olszewski, 486–498. Warsaw: Wolters Kluwer, 2017.
Weyembergh, Anne. “Approximation of Criminal Laws, the Constitutional Treaty and the Hague Programme.” Common Market Law Review 42, no. 6 (2005): 1567–1597. https://doi.org/10.54648/cola2005059. (Crossref)
Weyembergh, Anne. “Comment on CJEU, 11 February 2003, Joined Cases C-187/01 and C-385/01 Criminal Proceedings v Hüseyin Gözütok and Klaus Brügge.” In The Court of Justice and European Criminal Law: Leading Cases in a Contextua Analysis, edited by Valsamis Mitsilegas, Alberto di Martino, and Leandro Mancano, 199–211. Chicago: Hart Publishing, 2019.
Willems, Auke. “Mutual Trust as a Term of Art in EU Criminal Law: Reveal¬ing Its Hybrid Character.” European Journal of Legal Studies 9, no. 1 (2016): 211–249. https://hdl.handle.net/1814/43289.
Willems, Auke. “The Court of Justice of the European Union’s Mutual Trust Journey in EU Criminal Law: From a Presumption to (Room for) Rebut¬tal.” German Law Journal 20, no. 4 (2019): 468–495. https://doi.org/10.1017/ glj.2019.32. (Crossref)
Wischmeyer, Thomas. “Generating Trust Through Law? Judicial Cooperation in the European Union and the ‘Principle of Mutual Trust’.” German Law Jour¬nal 17, no. 3 (2016): 339–382. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200019805. (Crossref)
Xanthopoulou, Ermioni. “Mutual Trust and Rights in the EU Criminal and Asy¬lum Law: Three Phases of Revolution and the Unchartered Territory Beyond Blind Trust.” Common Market Law Review 55, no. 2 (2018): 489–509. https:// doi.org/10.54648/cola2018034. (Crossref)
