How will cross-border criminal justice work once we drop European Arrest Warrants? Lords to hear from Police Chiefs
Following the Government's announcement that they will not be seeking to participate in the European Arrest Warrant as part of their future relationship with the EU, two House of Lords Committees will come together to examine how criminal justice cooperation will change as a result of Brexit.
The EU Justice Sub-Committee and the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee hold a joint evidence session on Tuesday 3 March at 10:40am in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords. Giving evidence will be:
- Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin, the National Police Chiefs' Council's Lead for Brexit; and,
- Professor Valsamis Mitsilegas, Head of the Department of Law, Professor of European Criminal Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Centre at Queen Mary, University of London.
Current cooperation includes: the ability to search DNA profiles, fingerprints and vehicle registration information held by other Member States; mutual recognition of criminal sentences handed down in another Member State; a system for sharing information about people wanted or under surveillance by the police; and the European Arrest Warrant which speeds up the handing over of suspects or convicted criminals from one EU Member State to another.
Based on the negotiating mandates published by the UK Government and the European Commission, it seems unlikely that current levels of cooperation will continue. The two committees will ask witnesses for their views on what level of future cooperation is desirable, what they think is likely to be agreed, and what impact changes in cooperation could have on the UK's police and criminal justice system
