Hungarian Courts and Prosecutors use the European Arrest Warrant without paying attention towards proportionality
The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is considered to be a „success story“ by crime-fighting authorities all over the EU. Though there is truth in this when thinking of the fight against severe and organised crime, the picture looks different when we take a closer look at those cases where the citizens allegedly committed mere trifles. In the daily practice of our office we have met with EAWs against an eighteen year old girl using a stolen identity card (the girl had escaped from a children´s home, where she was beaten) or a young German who was cheated in a bar out of hundreds of Euro, then faced that the police he had called was on the side of the bar-owners and in an argument merely slightly pushed a policeman . Both citizens were prosecuted with an EAW by Hungarian courts, exclusively because the had no address in Hungary.
The consequences for the citzens are severe: They might be arrested on their place of work, spend up to thirty days in prison before the extradition procedure is finished, are then transported to Hungary where within a few days or even hours they can leave again.
Hungarian authorities obviously do not take into account the disadvantages and traumas they cause with their irresponsible procedures.
Our office is considering asking the European Court of Human Rights for clarification in a concrete case, whether this practice is in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly Article 6, the right to a fair procedure.
It is to be hoped that the European Commission – that surprisingly knows well about this kind of abuse – is going to create some legislation that will declare this practice explicitly what it is illegal and inhuman.
It is to be expected that under the current Hungarian government and its new „basic law“ (constitution) misuse is going to grow.
The law office of Dr. Donat Ebert is situtated in Budapest and specialised in the representation of clients in cross-border cases within the EU, particularly in the field of law of inheritance and criminal law.
Dr. Donat Ebert is admitted both to the bars in Hungary and Germany and represents his clients in courts all over both countries.
Kontakt:
Law Office Dr. Donat Ebert
Dr. Donat Ebert
Corvin tér 6
1011 Budapest
00-36-1-787 89 95
www.hungarian-lawyer.com
donat.ebert@ebert.hu
Pressekontakt:
Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Dr. Donat Ebert
Donat Ebert
Corvin tér 6
1011 Budapest
donat.ebert@ebert.hu
00-36-1-787 89 95
http://www.hungarian-lawyer.com
