The Transfer of Criminal Proceedings in the European Union

Foreword 7
Group picture 9

1 Introduction 11
1.1 The transfer of criminal proceedings between Member States 11
1.2 The research project 12
1.3 The subject matter 13
1.4 Research design 14
1.5 Content of this report 19
1.6 Reading guidance 19

2 Some general observations about the judicial cooperation in the EU and the research project 21
2.1 Introduction 21
2.2 Effects of the research project 21
2.3 Impressions of the daily practice of judicial cooperation 22
2.4 Technological development 23
2.5 The EU policy on security 24

3 The transfer of criminal proceedings: the current state of play 27
3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Statistical information 28
3.3 Types of cases and criteria at stake 30
3.4 The existing European legal framework 33
3.5 The stage of the investigation/prosecution where a transfer is considered 36
3.6 Conflicts of jurisdiction 37
3.7 The influence of the legality principle or opportunity principle 38
3.8 Conclusion 40

4 Some impressions about the challenges in practice 41
4.1 Introduction 41
4.2 Stumbling blocks on a practical level 41
4.3 Challenges of a more fundamental nature 43
4.4 Lack of justification of requests 45

5 Proposed solutions: building blocks for a new legal instrument 47
5.1 Introduction 47
5.2 The scope of the future legal instrument 48
5.3 Mutual recognition 49
5.4 Criteria and conditions for issuing a request for the transfer of proceedings 52
5.5 Procedural rights 54
5.6 Jurisdiction 58
5.7 Procedure, communication, translation and costs 61
5.8 After the decision to take over the proceedings: further execution 65

6 The aim: a comprehensive framework for judicial cooperation in the EU 71

Annex 1 European Convention on the Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters 73
Annex 2 2009 Draft Framework decision on the transfer of proceedings in criminal matters 87

About the authors 103