Arrest warrants to be executed, even in case of double jeopardy

The framework Decision on the European arrest warrent should be respected by the judicial authority which arrests the accused, declared the The Grand Chamber European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 17 November 2010. The ECJ noted that it should also prevent them from refusing to surrender the accused to the judicial authority from whom the arrest warrant was issued.

The judgement follows the peculiar case of Italian national Gaetano Mantello and the ne bis in idem principle, in  an organized cross border narcotic trafficking ring.

In 2005 Mr Mantello was convicted and sentenced to 10 months and 20 days of prison by thet Tribunale di Catania, for the unlawful possesion of cocaine. In 2008, the Tribunale di Catania issued a new arrest warrent for Gaetano Matnello, alledging that between 2004 and 2005 he had participated in organized drug trafficking between Italy and Germany.

Following the issuing of the arrest warrent on the Schengen Information System in late 2008, the German authorities arrested Gaetano Mantello. However, the German authorities refered the case of extradition to the European Courts, based on the principle of ne bis in Idem, otherwise known as double jeopardy. The German authorities statd tht  they were unsure of the legitimacy of the warrant, due to the prior sentencing of Mr. Mantello for the same crime.

The Grand Chamber, in its answer, stated that it is the Member State in which the judgement was delivered that determines the whether or not a person has been finally judged.

The Chamber further declared that the jurisdiction remains in the hands of the issuer of the warrant and cannot, as a general rule, be interefered with on grounds of double jeopardy.

European Court of Justice - Justice and Application -Case 261/09  Full Text