European Arrest Warrant

The European arrest warrant (EAW) is a judicial decision issued by a Member State of the European Union (the issuing Member State), for the arrest and surrender by another Member State (the executing Member State), of a person wanted for criminal prosecution or for the execution of a sentence.

The European arrest warrant is a breakthrough in European judicial cooperation.

Its origins lie in the framework decision of the Council of the European Union of June 13^th, 2002, and its foundation is based on:

The principle of mutual recognition of criminal decisions between EU Members States
The desire to eliminate the difficulties associated with extraditions within the European Union

This decision was incorporated into French law by the constitutional decision on March 25^th, 2003: the European arrest warrant is now covered by articles 695-11 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The following rules and conditions apply to the European Arrest Warrant (the surrender procedure between European Union Member States*). Other rules apply to extraditions between France and a non-European Union Member State: International Conventions or French extradition law.

*The European arrest warrant thus applies between the following states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

I. Matters for which a European Arrest Warrant may be issued
II. The surrender procedure when France is the issuing Member State
III. The surrender procedure when France is the executing Member State
IV. Means of opposing the surrender of a wanted person

I. Matters for which a European Arrest Warrant may be issued

The European arrest warrant may be issued against any person suspected or convicted in a Member State as the perpetrator, co-perpetrator or accomplice of an offence or attempted offence.

The acts for which a European arrest warrant may be issued are acts punishable by a sentence of one year or more or, when a sentence has already been pronounced, a sentence of four months’ imprisonment or more.

II. The surrender procedure when France is the issuing Member State

Information provided in the European arrest warrant

The European arrest warrant must contain the following information:

The identity and nationality of the person sought
Precise designation and contact details of the judicial authority from which it is issued
Indication of the existence of an enforceable judgment, an arrest warrant or any other judicial decision having the same force under the legislation of the issuing Member State.
The nature and legal classification of the offence
The date, place and circumstances in which the offence was committed, and the degree of involvement of the person sought
The sentence pronounced or the sentences incurred according to the law of the issuing Member State

The European arrest warrant must be translated into the language(s) of the executing Member State, or at least into one of the official languages of the European institutions accepted by that State.

The request for surrender addressed to another Member State

When the person sought is in a known location on the territory of another Member State, the European arrest warrant can be sent directly to the judicial authority of that State, by any means in writing. In other cases, an alert is sent via the Schengen information system or via Interpol.

In practice, the Public Prosecutor that has issued the arrest warrant executes it in the form of a European arrest warrant, either at the request of the Court or on its own initiative.

When the Public Prosecutor’s Office has been informed of the arrest of the wanted person, it immediately sends the Minister of Justice a copy of the arrest warrant transmitted to the judicial authority of the executing Member State.

The effects of the European Arrest Warrant

A person handed over to France after the execution of a European arrest warrant cannot be prosecuted, sentenced or detained for an act committed prior to the surrender and other than that for which the European arrest warrant was issued, except in one of the following cases:

The person has expressly declined the benefit of this rule (called rule of specialty), either at the time of consenting to surrender or after surrender
After surrender, the person expressly declines to benefit from this rule of specialty
The judicial authority of the executing Member State, which surrendered the person, expressly consents to the rule of specialty being waived
The person has not left the national territory within forty-five days of his final release, or has returned voluntarily after having left it, even though he or she was not obliged to do so
The offence is not punishable by a custodial sentence

III. The surrender procedure when France is the executing Member State

The request for surrender addressed to the public prosecutor with the appropriate territorial authority

Once it has been established that the wanted person is in France, the request for surrender is sent to the Public Prosecutor with territorial authority, who receives and executes the request after referring it to the Investigation Chamber.

Appearance before the Public Prosecutor

Following the arrest, the wanted person must be brought before the Public Prosecutor with territorial jurisdiction within 48 hours. During this time, he is entitled to the same rights as a person in police custody.

The Public Prosecutor checks the person’s identity and informs them of:

The existence and content of the European arrest warrant
The right to be assisted by a lawyer
The possibility to consent to or oppose the surrender, and the legal consequences of such consent
The right to decline the rule of specialty, i.e. the rule according to which the person surrendered to the issuing Member State after the execution of a European arrest warrant may not be prosecuted, sentenced or detained for an offence committed prior to the surrender and other than the offence for which the European arrest warrant was issued

The person is incarcerated, unless his representation at all stages of the proceedings is sufficiently guaranteed. The defendant may apply to the Investigating Chamber for release at any time and can be placed under judicial supervision.

Appearance before the Investigating Chamber

The arrested person must then appear before the Investigating Chamber within five working days of being presented to the Public Prosecutor.

In theory, this hearing is open to the public.

After being informed of the legal consequences, the person sought must declare:

if they consent to the surrender, and
if they decline the rule of specialty

The consent of the wanted person is not required for the execution of the European arrest warrant, but it accelerates the procedure.

If the wanted person consents to his surrender, the Investigating Chamber, after noting that the legal conditions for executing the European arrest warrant have been met, rules within seven days of the wanted person’s appearance, unless further information has been ordered. The decision is not subject to appeal.

If the wanted person does not consent to surrender, the Investigating Chamber rules within twenty days of the wanted person’s appearance, unless further information has been ordered. This decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court by the Public Prosecutor or by the person sought.

The execution of the European arrest warrant can be subject to verification that the wanted person can:

File an objection to the judgment rendered in his absence and be tried in his presence, if he had not been summoned to appear in Court or notified of the date and place of the hearing
Be sent back to France, if he is a French national or has resided there legally and continuously for at least five years, to serve any sentence pronounced by the judicial authority of the issuing state

The Investigating Chamber can, within ten days of receiving the European arrest warrant, ask the judicial authority of the issuing Member State for additional information, if it considers that the information provided is insufficient.

When several Member States have issued a European arrest warrant for the same person, the Investigating Chamber decides which European arrest warrant is to be executed.

The surrender of the person sought

The Public Prosecutor must take all necessary measures to ensure that the wanted person is handed over to the judicial authority of the issuing State within ten days of the final decision of the Investigating Chamber. If this deadline cannot be met, the Public Prosecutor informs the judicial authority of the issuing State and agrees to a new surrender date that cannot be more than ten days after the first date. If these deadlines are not met while the wanted person is in custody, he is automatically released.

However, the surrender can be delayed if:

Serious humanitarian reasons require it, in particular if the surrender of the wanted person is likely to have serious consequences for him because of his age or state of health
The requested person is being prosecuted in France or has already been convicted and is serving a sentence in France for an offence other than that covered by the European arrest warrant

When the surrender request is the subject of an appeal in the French Supreme Court, the time limit is extended to sixty days, and further delays are exceptionally possible in certain cases.

At the time of surrender, the Public Prosecutor mentions the time spent in detention as a result of the execution of the European arrest warrant, the aim being that this will be taken into account in the issuing Member State.

Note: the person handed over to the issuing Member State after the execution of a European arrest warrant cannot be prosecuted, sentenced or detained for an act committed prior to the surrender and other than that for which the European arrest warrant was issued, except in one of the following cases:

The person has expressly declined the benefit of this rule, either at the time of consenting to the surrender or after the surrender
After the surrender, the person expressly waives the benefit of the rule of specialty
The judicial authority of the executing Member State, which surrendered the person, expressly consents to this rule being waived
The wanted person has not left the national territory within forty-five days of his final release, or has returned voluntarily after having left it, even though he was not obliged to do so
The offence is not punishable by a custodial sentence

IV. Means of opposing the surrender of a wanted person

Mandatory means of opposing a European arrest warrant

The execution of a European arrest warrant must be refused in the following cases:

Public prosecution is extinguished by amnesty
The person sought has already been the subject of a final decision for the same acts, and the sentence has been enforced, is in the process of being enforced or can no longer be enforced under the laws of the issuing State (non bis in idem principle)
The person sought was under thirteen years old at the time of the offense
It is established that the arrest warrant was issued for the purpose of prosecuting or convicting a person because of his sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, language, political opinions or sexual orientation, or that this person’s situation may be prejudiced for one of these reasons

Optional means of opposing a European arrest warrant

The execution of a European arrest warrant can be refused:

If, for the offences resulting in European arrest warrant, the person sought is being prosecuted before the French courts, or if the French courts have decided not to initiate proceedings or to terminate proceedings
If the person sought for the execution of a custodial sentence or security measure is of French nationality or is lawfully and continuously resident in France, and if the sentence is enforceable in France
If the offence was committed, in part or entirely, on French territory
If the offence was committed outside of the territory of the issuing Member State and French law does not authorize prosecution of the offence when committed outside national territory
If the person sought has been subject, by the judicial authorities of a third State, to a final decision for the same acts as those which are the subject of the European arrest warrant, provided, in the case of a conviction, that the sentence has been executed or is in the process of being executed or can no longer be enforced by the laws of the convicting State
If the acts for which the European arrest warrant was issued could be prosecuted and judged by the French courts, and if the prescription period for the prosecution or the sentencing has expired

The execution of a European arrest warrant can also be refused if the act covered by the warrant does not constitute an offence under French law: this is the double criminality check.

However, this check is not carried out when the acts:

Are punishable, under the law of the issuing Member State, by a custodial sentence or a detention order for a period of three years or more, and
Fall into one of the categories of offences listed in article 695-32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, such as participation in a criminal organization, terrorism, sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, illicit drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, cybercrime, intentional homicide and rape.

Finally, when the European arrest warrant is issued for the purpose of executing a custodial sentence or detention order, its execution can be refused if the person concerned did not appear in person at the trial at which the sentence or detention order was pronounced, unless, according to the information given by the issuing Member State in the European arrest warrant, one of the following applies:

He was duly and effectively informed, unequivocally and in due time, by summons or by any other means, of the date and place set for the trial and of the possibility that a decision might be made against him if he failed to appear
Having been informed of the date and place of the trial, he was defended during the trial by counsel, appointed either by himself, or at the request of the public authorities, to whom he had given a mandate for this purpose
Having been informed of the decision and expressly informed of his right to appeal against it in order to obtain a new examination of the merits of the case, in his presence, by a court empowered to make a decision cancelling the initial decision or substituting it, he expressly indicated that he does not contest the initial decision or has not exercised the appeal available to him within the given time limit
He must be given a copy of the decision of which he has not been notified as soon as he is surrendered, and he must also be informed of the possibility of exercising the appeal provided for in paragraph 3 and of the time limit for doing so

Reasons must be given for any refusal to execute a European arrest warrant.

Your criminal defense with Me Lois Pamela LESOT

Your Criminal Defense with Maître Lois Pamela LESOT

Are you (or someone close to you) the subject of a European Arrest Warrant?
Consult a lawyer: Maître Lois Pamela LESOT – 06.52.02.54.42 – lesot@loispamelalesot.com

The firm regularly provides assistance and defense for individuals sought under a European Arrest Warrant, as well as in the context of an extradition request.

Date de l’article : 2 juillet 2025 | Par Lois Pamela LESOT