Intersections among EU judicial cooperation instruments and the quest for an advanced and consistent European judicial space: The case of the transfer and surrender of convicts in the EU

Abstract

The article addresses the intersections among the three EU instruments regulating cross-border surrender and transfer of convicts in the Union, namely, Framework Decisions 2002/584/JHA on the European Arrest Warrant, 2008/909/JHA on the transfer of prisoners and 2008/947/JHA on the supervision of probation measures and alternative sanctions abroad. The analysis identified three main categories of intersections and discusses several critical examples: normative interplays, teleological connections and interplays deriving from the need to secure the protection of fundamental rights. The article supports the view that, while the development of judicial cooperation in criminal matters has extensively relied on an ad hoc approach to mutual recognition, the analysis of the interplays among different EU measures enhances the pathway towards an increasingly forward-looking truly EU judicial space. To this purpose, the analysis advocates for further research from this largely neglected perspective, beyond the case of the surrender and transfer of convicts.