Joint Letter on EU Arrest Rights Directive

The Open Society Justice Initiative and six other groups have written to the justice ministers of England and Wales, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland urging them to reconsider their objections to a proposed European directive on arrest rights.

The five ministers have expressed the view that the European Commission's proposals "would present substantial difficulties for the effective conduct of criminal proceedings by their investigating, prosecuting and judicial authorities". The open letter argues instead that the draft directive "represents an important step towards full mutual recognition within the common European justice space".