→ 🇧🇪 Belgium

It is certainly not for the Italian judicial authority to verify the existence of the custodial requirements set out in Article 274 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure for the adoption of a “domestic” precautionary measure by the foreign judicial authority. The only relevant consideration is that the European Arrest Warrant constitutes a judicial decision issued for the purpose of conducting criminal proceedings. It is therefore clear that the challenged decision confuses two distinct levels: on the one hand, the precautionary measure issued by the requesting State; on the other, the measure to be adopted by the requested State in order to ensure the execution of the warrant through the surrender of the requested person.

In the context of extradition for foreign countries, the status of a mother of a child who, even if over three years of age, requires continuous material and emotional care entails that surrender must be made conditional upon the existence, in the requesting State, of adequate guarantees ensuring that the requested person can maintain contact with her children. Such arrangements need not mirror those provided for under the Italian penitentiary system, but must nonetheless be sufficient to safeguard the psychophysical integrity of the child, the parent, and the family unit as a whole.