05 November 2020
The Meijers Committee, made up of experts on immigration, refugee and criminal law, highlights a number of issues that must be considered following increasing suspension by national courts of European Arrest Warrant extraditions to Poland. National courts are halting procedures and requesting advice from the Court of Justice of the EU due to the Polish government's attack on judicial independence and the impact on individual rights in criminal proceedings.
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
"Pending a preliminary ruling of the EU Court of Justice, the District Court of Amsterdam has provisionally suspended all surrenders to Poland. Recently also a German court has refused to execute a European arrest warrant from Poland. It is probably a matter of time until this trend will be joined by courts from other countries too and its impact may potentially be extended to other EU Member States where the rule of law is seriously deteriorating. Consequently, a serious decline in rule of law-performance apparently has a direct impact on cross-border cooperation in criminal matters. This prompts the Meijers Committee to once again urge politicians on the national and European level to intervene and to strengthen the pressure on Member States concerned to adhere to binding European values and the rule of law.
To support its call, the Meijers Committee wishes to draw your attention to the following issues as well as to a number of realistic side-effects the aforementioned development may bring."
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.
Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.