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Where, under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the need to secure the physical presence of the requested person in criminal proceedings appears, in abstract terms, compatible with the objectives of the cooperation instrument, this does not exempt the judicial authority of the executing State from carrying out the substantive assessments entrusted to it, namely compliance with the principle of proportionality. It is therefore necessary to assess the impact of surrender on the person’s family life, on the relationship with minor children and on their needs for care and protection, especially where the person is the sole parent of two very young children and there exists, in abstract terms, the possibility of securing the person’s presence by means of a video-link (excluded by the UK court not because such a tool is unavailable or prohibited under domestic law, but on discretionary grounds of expediency).

Greek Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) Decision No. 158/2024 – Brief SummaryIn Decision No. 158/2024, the Greek Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) dismissed the appeal of a British national against a decision authorising his surrender to the United Kingdom for prosecution on multiple serious offences, including sexual offences against minors, assault, and threatening behaviour.The Court held that, following Brexit, surrender proceedings between Greece and the United Kingdom are governed exclusively by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which replaced both the European Arrest Warrant framework and the 1957 European Convention on Extradition in relations between the UK and EU Member States.The Supreme Court found that the UK arrest warrant complied with all formal and substantive requirements of the TCA, including a sufficiently detailed description of the alleged offences, the applicable legal provisions, and the potential penalties. It emphasised that the executing judicial authority is not required to examine the merits of the criminal accusations but only to verify compliance with the surrender conditions laid down in the Agreement.The Court rejected the appellant's arguments concerning insufficient information, proportionality, statute of limitations, and alleged risks of unfair treatment or inhuman conditions in Scotland. In particular, it held that the limitation defence under Article 601(1)(d) TCA was inapplicable because the alleged offences had been committed abroad by a foreign national and therefore did not fall within Greek criminal jurisdiction, which means that the statutes of limitation under Greek law does not pose a reason to deny extradition request.Finally, the Court concluded that none of the mandatory or optional grounds for refusing surrender under the TCA were applicable. It therefore upheld the execution of the UK arrest warrant, maintained the requested person's detention pending surrender, and ordered him to pay the procedural costs of the appeal.

The case concerned a request for extradition from Germany to the United Kingdom under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, based on a TCA arrest warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies. The requested person objected to extradition on the ground that prison conditions in England and Wales, including overcrowding, staff shortages and violence, could expose him to inhuman or degrading treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR. The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court requested specific, binding assurances and detailed information on the prisons in which the requested person would be held, including cell space, occupancy, sanitation, ventilation, outdoor exercise, activities and medical care. The United Kingdom authorities provided only general information and did not identify the specific detention facilities or give the requested guarantees within the deadline set by the Court. As a result, the Court held that it could not be assumed with sufficient certainty that the requested person would be detained in humane conditions, declared extradition currently inadmissible, revoked the TCA extradition warrant and ordered his immediate release.

In the matter of a prosecution arrest warrant issued by the United Kingdom on the basis of the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of 24 December 2020, the optional nature of the condition of return to Italy in order to serve there the sentence eventually imposed, provided for under Article 604, letter b), of the aforementioned Agreement, results in a regime for Italian citizens that is less favourable than that laid down, for the analogous system of surrender under the European arrest warrant, by Article 19, paragraph 1, letter b), of Law No. 69 of 22 April 2005, as amended by Article 17, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree No. 10 of 2 February 2021; therefore, in the absence of an express different request by the person concerned, the surrender is mandatorily subject to the guarantee of return and the relevant condition, where not contained in the challenged judgment, must be imposed by the Court of Cassation also “ex officio.”