European Arrest Warrant

The European Arrest Warrant is vital for effective extradition within Europe - according to three members of The Dickson Poon School of Law faculty. 

Dickson Poon Distinguished Visitor Lord Phillips, Sir Francis Jacobs QC, and Dr Cian Murphy were three of the signatories to a letter published in The Daily Telegraph yesterday calling for ongoing co-operation with other EU members on extradition.

The trio were among 40 of Britain's 'most senior legal figures' to write to the newspaper ahead of Parliament's vote on matter next week. Also among the leading signatories of the letter was Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, an alumnus of the School, and former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.

The letter urges Members of Parliament to vote for Britain to remain part of the European Arrest Warrant system. Failure to remain in the system would mean that Britain 'risks becoming a safe haven for fugitives from justice'. There is, the letter states, 'no credible alternative to the EAW'. The signatories warn against falling back on slow and ineffective criminal justice processes - and note that if Britain opts-out then other EU members may not be quick to offer an alternative.

The European Arrest Warrant was the subject of a recent empirical research project at King's, led by Dr Murphy, to investigate the perspective of law enforcement officers on EU criminal justice co-operation. The project's report concludes that the EAW is a valuable tool to keep Europe secure - albeit one that would benefit from further 'transnational procedure' to ensure protection of suspects' rights. 

Read the letter on the Daily Telegraph website  

Read the news story here

See more on the King's research project related to the European Arrest Warrant.