It is amazing how much EU legislation seems to go through without people being made aware of it – more recently, a fundamental cornerstone of British justice has been surrendered.
Last June, the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council reached a general approach on a draft framework decision in which Member States are obliged to mutually recognise decisions rendered in the absence of the person at the trial. The framework decision jeopardises fundamental principles of British justice such as the right to a fair trial.
Trials in absentia have been allowed in the British law since 2001 but only in rare circumstances – yet the Government has backed the EU proposal and in fact it co-sponsored it. Under the proposal a British citizen might be sentenced in a court of another EU Member State without his/her presence and then extradited to that Member State to face a prison sentence without having chance to exercise their right to defence.
The European Parliament issued its opinion on this proposal on 2 September: it approved the proposal for a framework decision on enforcement of decisions rendered in absentia by 609 votes in favour, 60 against and 14 with amendments.
Philip Bradbourn, MEP, Conservative justice and home affairs spokesman in the European Parliament, has said “This proposal goes against one of the most fundamental cornerstones of British justice – that the accused has a right to defend himself at trial. … Not content with eroding our liberties in Westminster, Labour is also undermining them in Brussels.”
