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European
arrest warrant in Germany
Cross-border
prosecution
The European Arrest Warrant Act is based on a decision taken by the European
Union on February 13, 2002 which also requires member states to extradite their
own nationals to other member states for criminal prosecution. German nationals
convicted of crimes in other EU countries will continue to serve their prison
sentences in Germany so that resocialization measures can be carried out.
The extradition of a German national for criminal prosecution can only be
approved if the person in question agrees to this. If the person to be
extradited has established permanent residence in another member state and
intends to remain there after serving out the prison sentence imposed, then that
person is to be given the option of serving the sentence in the prison system of
the country of choice.
Offense committed in Germany not a basis for extradition
Article 16 of the German constitution states that no German may be extradited to
a foreign country. The only exception to this rule is if a law stipulates
extradition to a member state of the European Union or an international court of
law. However, under the present bill a criminal offender would not be able to
avoid extradition on the basis of citizenship if the crime committed were
related in some important way to another country. This would be the case, for
instance, if a murder were committed abroad. German nationals would also be
extradited in cases involving terrorist acts or international drug trafficking.
Extradition of Germans and foreigners with equivalent status
A second important change contained in the amended bill concerns the case
analysis demanded by the Constitutional Court in connection with the extradition
of German nationals. The court requires that each case be carefully examined to
determine whether or not extradition is commensurate.
The special extradition rules that apply to German nationals would also apply to
certain foreign nationals as long as they are legal residents. This would be
true, for instance, in the case of foreign nationals who live in Germany with a
German family member or life partner.
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