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In its annual report assessing the human rights situation in the world in 2019, adopted in the plenary on 20 January 2020, MEPs express deep concerns about authoritarian regimes around the world having used the pandemic to repress civil society and critical voices. They called …

One of the most controversially discussed and unresolved issues in extradition law, namely whether extradition can be denied because elements of a fair trial will not be ensured in the requesting (issuing) State, gained new momentum after the CJEU’s judgment in “LM” of 25 July …

This Spotlight gives an overview of the main provisions of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement that was concluded on Christmas eve 2020 as far as issues related to the protection of the EU's financial interests and cooperation in the area of justice and home affairs is concerned. The Agreement will regulate the future (close) relationship between the EU and the UK after the Brexit as of 1 January 2021. It also includes hints where to find summaries and provides a first assessment.

At their informal videoconference on 28 January 2021, ministers of home affairs discussed the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which was proposed by the Commission in September 2020. During its Council Presidency (which started on 1 January 2021), Portugal wants to focus …

Alongside conclusions on internal security ( → separate news item under “Security Union”), the Council adopted conclusions on 14 December 2020 pointing the ways towards enhancing cross-border law enforcement/police cooperation.

The CJEU ruled that the German public prosecutor's offices may issue European Investigation Orders (EIOs) despite being contingent upon individual instructions from the executive. In the context of the EIO Directive the situation is different as to the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant, the CJEU argued.

Backing two constitutional complaints, the German Federal Constitutional Court reproached two courts for not having adequately applied the CJEU's test in Arranyosi & Căldăraru regarding insufficient detention conditions in Romania. The decision is remarkable because the FCC accepts for the first time in relation to European criminal law that the fundamental rights of the German constitution are not the yardstick for examination but instead the fundamental rights of the CFR.

According to the CJEU, Dutch public prosecutors are not an “executing judicial authority,” as they may be subject to individual instructions from the Dutch Minister of Justice. Therefore, the Dutch public prosecutor was not entitled to consent to an exception to the speciality rule (Art. 27 FD EAW). Herewith, the CJEU clarifies its case law on the requirements of independence, so that prosecution services can be ragarded "judicial authority" within the FD EAW.

On 17 December 2020, the CJEU decided that a court executing an EAW is not entitled to refuse surrender if the issuing state does not fulfil the requirements of Directive 343/2016 on the defendant’s right to be present at trial. The sole yardstick is Art. 4a FD EAW.

EU Member States may not impose a general ban on surrender, despite growing doubts about the independence of the Polish judiciary. The CJEU ruled on 17 December 2020 that the execution of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) may still only be refused if the person concerned runs a real risk of being subjected to an unfair trial.