Legal context
European arrest warrant replaces extradition between EU Member States
A European Arrest Warrant, valid throughout the European Union has replaced extradition procedures between Member States of the enlarged Europe. Such a warrant may be issued by a national issuing judicial authority if the person whose return is sought is accused of an offence for which the maximum period of the penalty is at least a year in prison, or if he or she has been sentenced to a prison term of at least four months. A decision by the judicial authority of a member state to require the arrest and return of a person should therefore be executed as quickly and as easily as possible in the other Member States of the European Union.
The European Arrest Warrant means faster and simpler surrender procedures and no more political involvement. It also means that Member States can no longer refuse to surrender to another Member State their own citizens who have committed a serious crime, or who are suspected of having committed such a crime in another EU country, on the ground that they are nationals.
In the two subsections of this page you will find the legislation regarding the European Arrest Warrant as well as jurisprudence on this matter. Both are published in all 24 languages of the European Union and can be found on internet. In these subsections we will mainly publish the English version.