The European Arrest Warrant Under the Scrutiny of the Italian Constitutional Court

Abstract

This paper illustrates how the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was enacted in Italy, and highlights some of the contradictions arising out of its reception into Italian law. In particular, the article focuses on issues relating to the compatibility of the EAW with the Italian Constitution and analyses the decisions no. 143 of 2008 and no. 227 of 2010 through which the Italian Constitutional Court declared the partial unconstitutionality of the Italian law implementing the European Arrest Warrant (Act no. 69/2005). In the former decision, the Court considered the rule provided by Article 33 of Act no. 69 contrary to the principle of equality enshrined by Article 3 of the Italian Constitution. In the latter decision, the Court held that Article 18(1)(r) of Act no. 69/2005 contrasted with the principles of non-discrimination and EU citizenship.

Keywords: EAW, European Arrest Warrant, Constitution, Constitutional Court, Framework Decision