the European arrest warrant - Statewatch

Article 46 - Transmission
The provisions of this Article are taken over from Article 6 of the European Union
Convention on mutual assistance in judicial matters (29 May 2000). There is a major
innovation here in that the European arrest warrant may be sent by any means, in particular by
fax or e-mail, so long as its authenticity can be checked and perfect confidentiality is ensured.
The transmission of the European arrest warrant must benefit from the mechanisms set up
between Member States under the mutual assistance Convention (cf. Explanatory Report ad
Article 6) so that “precise arrangements [are] made for establishing authenticity where
requests are made by fax, e-mail or other means of telecommunication”.
In addition, since the European arrest warrant is in itself a sufficient enforceable document,
the transmission of related documentation and checks on their authenticity are highly
simplified. It is mainly in the cases referred to in Article 33 (additional information) that
questions of transmission of other documents and authenticity might arise. They will be
regulated by mutual agreement by direct contact between the judicial authorities of the
Member States, if necessary with the central authorities’ support.
Article 47 - Languages
The European arrest warrant is to be transmitted in the language of the issuing State or in the
language of the executing State. The text does not diverge from the 1957 European
Extradition Convention.
On the other hand, the text takes as a starting point the Treaty between Italy and Spain when it
makes the central authority of the executing State responsible for translation into its language
of the warrant, if necessary, and of all documents that are required for the procedure.
Article 48 - Expenses
The text of the Framework Decision makes a minor change to simplify matters in comparison
with Article 24 of the 1957 European Extradition Convention.
The principle is as follows: all expenses incurred on the territory of the executing State are to
be borne by that State, whereas travel expenses and all other expenses are to be borne by the
issuing State.
Chapter VIII: Safeguard
Article 49 - Safeguard
The system of the European arrest warrant can function only when there is perfect trust
between the Member States as to the quality and reliability of their political and legal systems.
It is accordingly possible for a Member State to decide unilaterally to suspend recognition of
European arrest warrants issued by another Member State when it is suspected of serious and
repeated violations of fundamental rights within the meaning of Article 6 of the Union Treaty.
A declaration to that effect must be made to the Council and to the Commission. This
declaration could serve as the starting point for the procedure provided for by Article 7 of the
Union Treaty. But if the procedure of that Article has not been initiated within six months, the
suspension of recognition of European arrest warrants must cease to operate.
Where this Article is applied, it will be for the executing Member State to decide, according
to the circumstances, if it the person should be prosecuted on its territory for the facts which
gave rise to the issue of the European arrest warrant.
The Article should, however, be applied only during a transitional period pending a Decision
on the application of Article 7 to the relevant Member State.
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