How the European arrest warrant works between EU countries

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The European arrest warrant is a judicial decision issued in one EU member state to arrest and hand over a person wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence. In Spain it is issued by the judge or court handling the case, and it is carried out by the Central Investigating Courts and the Criminal Division of the National Court (Audiencia Nacional).
2. For a long list of crimes (terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, rape, kidnapping, and others) punishable by at least three years, the person is surrendered without checking whether the act is also a crime in Spain. In other cases, with penalties of at least 12 months, that requirement may still apply.
3. Execution must be denied, for example, if the person was finally tried for the same acts in another member state, if they are below the age of criminal responsibility under Spanish law, or if they were pardoned in Spain. Denial is also allowed in other cases, such as when a criminal case is pending in Spain for the same acts.
4. The arrested person must be brought before the Central Investigating Judge within 72 hours and heard at a hearing with a prosecutor, a lawyer and, if needed, an interpreter. If the person consents to surrender, the court decides within 10 days; if not, within 60 days of arrest, extendable by 30 more.
5. The surrender takes place within 10 days of the court decision. If the deadline passes because the issuing state does not take the person, that person is released, without this blocking a later European arrest warrant for the same acts.
6. Under the specialty principle, a person surrendered to Spain cannot be prosecuted or sentenced for offenses committed before the surrender other than the one that justified it, unless the surrendering state authorizes it or the person waived that protection.

Who it affects

• People wanted by the justice system of another EU country for prosecution or to serve a sentence: They can be arrested and surrendered through a fast judicial procedure with fixed deadlines and limited grounds for refusal.
• Spanish judges and courts: They can request surrenders from other member states and must execute European arrest warrants they receive, mainly the Central Investigating Courts and the Criminal Division of the National Court.
• Ministry of Justice (Ministerio de Justicia): It acts as the central authority and receives copies of European arrest warrants sent.
• Victims of serious cross-border crimes: Surrender of wanted people is faster than traditional extradition.

Words worth knowing

Orden europea de detención y entrega

European arrest warrant: a judicial decision from one EU country asking another to arrest and hand over a wanted person.

Reconocimiento mutuo

Mutual recognition: the idea that each EU country almost automatically enforces the judicial decisions of the others, trusting their systems.

Doble incriminación

Double criminality: the requirement that an act be a crime both in the country requesting surrender and in the one receiving it.

Principio de especialidad

Specialty principle: a rule barring prosecution of a surrendered person for offenses other than the one that justified the surrender, unless authorized.

Prisión provisional

Pretrial detention: a measure keeping someone in custody during proceedings to ensure they remain available.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries