i. National law appeal

The EAW FD has no provision concerning the right to appeal a surrender decision. Notwithstanding, most jurisdictions confer upon the requested person the right to appeal against such decisions (the CJEU has already confirmed that this is in conformity with EU law – Case C-188/13 PPU Jeremy F. (30th May 2013). Therefore you should confirm whether your national law entitles the requested person to appeal against a surrender decision. Ensure that you are aware of the deadlines for lodging an appeal in EAW proceedings as these might be shorter than the regular deadlines for lodging appeals in criminal cases.

ii. Reference to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling

If the meaning of EU law is unclear during the execution procedure, questions may be referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling as foreseen by Article 267 TFEU[12]. A court of final instance on the specific question at issue has an obligation to make a reference where a ruling from the CJEU is necessary to enable it to give judgment. The procedure operates at the initiative of the national court, which, in a written order sent to the CJEU, summarises the case, explains how its decision turns on the point of EU law and asks specific questions concerning interpretation of provisions of EU law.[13] This and the rest of the procedure, including the filing of written observations by the parties to the national case and hearings before the CJEU, will be in the national court’s language. The ordinary timeframe for the ruling is a little over one year. However, the national court may ask the CJEU to apply its urgent procedure (which reduces the timeframe to less than two months) where the CJEU’s ruling may lead to the release of a person in detention (in this context, because they are detained pending execution of an EAW and the CJEU’s decision could entail the refusal of surrender). As a lawyer in the Executing State you can make an application to your national court raising a question of interpretation or validity of a provision of EU law applicable in your case and requesting that your national court make a reference to the CJEU.

 

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[12] The organisation Fair Trials has produced a guide to the Court of Justice of the European Union in criminal practice which includes a training module.

[13] The CJEU has produced recommendations for national courts.