The European Arrest Warrant: an additional tool for prosecuting ICC crimes

The Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States adopted by the Council of the European Union on 13 June 2002 is certainly to be welcomed inasmuch as it abolishes formal extradition procedures among Member States with respect to persons suspected of having committed serious criminal offences or who have been finally sentenced and replaces it with a system whereby national judicial authorities of each Member State must directly recognize and execute requests for arrest and surrender coming from the judicial authority of another Member State. The new system, which applies to a wide range of offences, including the ‘crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court’, may present several advantages for the prosecution of ICC crimes by EU Member States. Howevever, the Decision may also impinge upon the rules of the ICC Statute concerning the immunities of persons suspected of having committed one of the offences coming under the purview of both an EAW and the ICC. The paper focuses on both the advantages of the EU Decision on the EAW for the prosecution of the ICC crimes and the issues of compatibility between the EAW and the ICC Statute that are liable to arise in the future.