Execution of a UK arrest warrant: Opinion of the EU Advovate General in Case C-202/24 Alchaster

Thursday 27th June 2024

Opinion in Case C-202/24 Alchaster

(Area of freedom, security and justice – Judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters)

The Irish Supreme Court made a reference for a preliminary ruling in proceedings concerning the execution in Ireland of four arrest warrants relating to terrorism, issued on November 26, 2021. Three of the offences are punishable by life imprisonment. The offences are deemed to have been committed by the person concerned between July 18 and 20, 2020.

The request was made in the context of the execution in Ireland of an arrest warrant issued by the judicial authorities of the United Kingdom for MA for the purpose of conducting a criminal prosecution. The referring court seeks to determine the obligations of a judicial authority executing an arrest warrant where the requested person argues that his fundamental rights will be breached by the authorities of the issuing state.

The reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of, first, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, second, Article 49(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’).

The person concerned objected to his surrender. He argued that new measures for persons convicted of certain terrorism-related offences – which came into force in Northern Ireland on April 30, 2021 – had the effect of retrospectively imposing a harsher penalty on him than that provided for at the time the alleged offences were committed. That would breach the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The High Court dismissed his appeal and he appealed to the referring court.

The Irish Supreme Court as referring court notes that the Court has already held that, if a Member State receives a request from a non-EU State to extradite a national of another Member State, the first Member State must verify that the extradition will not adversely affect the rights referred to in Article 19 of the Charter.

Accordingly, the referring court wonders to what extent Article 49 of the Charter applies in a surrender decision other than in the cases provided for in Article 19 of the Charter, bearing in mind that the new measures are not subject to the Charter, and the Charter will not apply to criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom.

Therefore, it wonders whether it has an obligation to examine the compatibility of the new measures with Article 49 of the Charter and, if so, what is the nature and scope of such an examination.

Background Documents C-202/24