Brexit likely to slow the wheels of extradition for wanted criminals
Introduced in 2002, the European Arrest Warrant has sped up the arrest and transfer process within the EU, but Britain must now negotiate a similar deal or face delays in its pursuit of criminals
Leaving the European Union would stop innocent British citizens from languishing in foreign prisons, UK politicians claimed as they campaigned for Brexit.
The reality is it may also make it harder to extradite criminals to stand trial in the country.
The EU has used the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) – valid through the 28-nation bloc – to streamline extradition procedures since 2004, and the results are tangible.
Brexit leaves our extradition arrangements with Europe in a dangerously uncertain position
Before EAWs, fewer than 60 people a year were sent by the UK to other countries to face criminal charges. Since then, more than 7,000 have been expelled to EU member states alone and 1,000 brought back to face trial, according to data from the UK National Crime Agency.
The June 23 vote to leave the EU will mean the UK won’t be a party to the rules underpinning the EAW once it completes the Brexit process. If the government isn’t able to negotiate a similar deal, it could have a big effect on its ability to bring criminals to justice.
Without the EAW “the UK will have to negotiate new extradition arrangements with the whole of the rest of the European Union, which are likely to be slower and less effective” said senior London trial lawyer Hugo Keith.
“Brexit leaves our extradition arrangements with Europe in a dangerously uncertain position,” he added.
The EAW was introduced in 2002 and enacted in the UK in 2004. Once issued, pending certain barriers, a country must arrest and transfer the target of a warrant to the requesting territory. The key advantage is speed – extradition under a EAW takes an average of three months compared with 10 months for a non-EU jurisdiction, according to UK government statistics from 2013.