As a result of the use of the European arrest warrant, the average duration of extradition proceedings for suspects in the EU has been reduced to 45 days, and in cases where the detainee does not object to extradition, to 18 days.
The agreement on the European arrest warrant came into force in most EU countries on January 1, 2005. It is designed to abolish the so-called “dual criminality”, when for the extradition of a criminal, the crime committed must be recognized as such by the criminal legislation of both the country where he was detained and the state that requested the extradition. At the same time, the practice of “the last word belonging to the minister of justice” is also abolished. The European arrest warrant is intended to ensure effective cooperation between national law enforcement agencies in the operational search and detention of persons who have broken the law, as well as to simplify the process of their extradition.
The agreement applies to 32 types of serious crimes that carry imprisonment of three years or more, including terrorism and drug trafficking. Under the agreement, each party must make an extradition decision within 60 days from the moment of detention of the wanted person, or no later than 90 days in exceptional cases. On average, the extradition process in EU countries lasted about nine months.
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