@article{2016:meysman:belgium_an,
title = {Belgium and the European Arrest Warrant: Is European Criminal Cooperation Under Pressure?},
year = {2016},
note = {In its judgment of the 19th of November 2013, Belgium’s highest
court, the Court of Cassation, confirmed an earlier judgment of the
so-called kamer van inbeschuldigingstelling (KI) of the Court of
Appeal in Ghent in response to a surrender demanded in accordance with
a number of European arrest warrants issued by Spain. This surrender
was brushed off the table by the KI on the basis of a motivation
basedon themutual trust concerning thecompliance with fundamental
rights within the context of European cooperation in criminal
matters.This motivation seems bound to raise eyebrows amongst those
who advocate this classic tenet of cross-border cooperation.This
article frames this recent judgement within a European context, and
investigates whether there is indeeda European tendency to step away
from blind trust in lieu of (successfully) invoking fundamental rights
to refuse cooperation. The case under scrutiny already seems to be
pointing in that direction as far as the member states are concerned.
Moreover, it seems to be confirmed by recent statements within the
European Court of Justice (ECJ) by the Advocates General, as well as
through the new procedural wind blowing through the Union with the
Procedural Roadmap. On the other hand, the ECJ shows itself more
reluctant than expected, giving rise to a situation in which member
states and involved individuals remain in the dark with regard to a
consistent line on the complex relation between smooth European
cooperation in criminal cases and respect for fundamental rights. The
Union moreover appears to be increasingly moving away from cooperation
in criminal cases - despite the fact that it concerns a competence
enshrined in treaty law - in exchange for a harmonisation of national
(minimum) standards. A noble motive, which in this case however
carries the potential to further complicate, or even undermine, the
necessary trust and guarantees for fundamental rights in criminal
cases. The recent judgement by the Court of Cassation also
demonstrates that the matter of human rights requires an adequate
response, not only to permanently ensure and improve the protection of
fundamental rights, but also to avoid that more and more spanners are
thrown in the works of smooth European cooperation in criminal
matters.},
journal = {EuCLR European Criminal Law Review},
pages = {186--210},
author = {Meysman, Michaël},
volume = {6},
number = {2}
}