New Handbook on how to issue and execute an European arrest warrant published

The European Commission is today releasing a new edition of the Handbook on how to issue and execute a European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) as part of its efforts to bring cross-border criminals to justice. 

Read the new Handbook on how to issue and execute a European arrest warrant  

The Handbook was last issued in 2017. This edition is the second revision. The original Handbook was published by the Council in 2008. The Commission published a revised version in 2017. 

Aimed at European legal practitioners, the handbook sums up the vast experience gained over the past two decades of using the EAW in the European Union. It also provides a series of tips and recommendations to help legal practitioners when they issue or execute EAWs and guides them through every step of the surrender procedure. The revised 2023 version also reflects the rapidly evolving CJEU case law on the EAW and the changes to the SIS system. It was drawn up following meetings with experts in the Member States and agencies and has been thoroughly reviewed by the Commission’s Legal Service.

The EAW makes it easier and faster to hand over wanted people to another Member State and has greatly improved the way justice is served. It has made European citizens safer across the EU.
Ever since the EAW came into force in 2004, it has been the most used EU instrument of judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Judges and prosecutors have increasingly used them over time.  In 2021 alone, judges and prosecutors issued 14,789 EAWs.