The German Constitutional Court and the European Arrest Warrant

摘要

In an important 2005 judgment, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared void the German Act that was meant to implement the European Union Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant. However, according to the Constitutional Court, the Framework Decision itself did not necessarily provoke a breach of the German Constitution. If the German legislator had made adequate use of the tolerance provided by the Framework Decision, he could have avoided any conflict with the Constitution. While, at first sight, the Court's criticism solely seems to refer to German national law, a closer look at some statements that deal with European law reveals a high potential for future disagreement between the German Constitutional Court and European institutions: they do not share the same view as to the development of European cooperation in criminal matters.