Surrender under an EAW requires a prior decision to prosecute, not merely a request for questioning

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🇬🇧 Summary

France sought the requested person’s surrender under an EAW in connection with serious drug-trafficking offences. The Supreme Court of Gibraltar held that surrender for prosecution requires a decision to try the requested person to have already been made and cannot be based merely on a wish to question the person before deciding whether to indict. Although the EAW and its preamble prima facie indicated that prosecution had commenced, the French prosecutor’s explanations and the evidence on French procedure created clear doubt as to whether a decision to try had in fact been taken. The Court therefore allowed the appeal, quashed the surrender order and discharged the requested person, while holding that the French statement on speciality was sufficient in substance.

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