England is still covered by the European arrest warrant. Extradition to England on the basis of a European arrest warrant is also possible for fiscal offences.

European arrest warrant made in England

In England, arrest warrants are issued by Magistrates Courts, but district judges and Crown Court judges are also authorised to issue arrest warrants. In addition, the "warrant for non-appearance at trial" issued by the respective criminal court is known in England.

In England you may be released from custody on bail. In this context, the police have more extensive powers than in Germany.

In 2016 we have seen both sides of the coin, first successfully at the Higher Regional Court of Hamm against extradition to England on the basis of a European arrest warrant (Higher Regional Court of Hamm, decision of 28.06.2016 - 2 AuslA 100/16) and then successfully at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne conversely against a German extradition request sent to England on the basis of a German European arrest warrant  (Higher Regional Court of Cologne, decision of 27.09.2016 - 2 Ws 632/16).

The German Constitutional Court has dealt with the different structure of criminal proceedings in Germany and England under the heading "obstacle to extradition“. Federal Constitutional Court (2 BvR 890/16): The European arrest warrant was based on an arrest warrant issued by the Central Hertfordshire Magistrates' Court on 13 April 2007. The complainant had argued that in England, unlike in Germany, the silence of an accused could be used to his disadvantage, which would violate his fundamental rights in the case of extradition. The constitutional complaint was not accepted for decision. According to the Federal Constitutional Court, extradition to England on the basis of a European arrest warrant should not fail because the freedom from self-incrimination in English procedural law is not guaranteed to the same extent as is constitutionally the case in German criminal proceedings (German Federal Constitutional Court 2 BvR 890/16).

Extradition proceedings in England

There is an instructive summary of the extradition trial in England in the April 2012 decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the BABAR AHMAD AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM case.

On a website of the English government it is currently said that England currently maintains extradition transactions with over 100 countries on the basis of multinational conventions and bi-national extradition treaties.

Meanwhile, "The Telegraph" has for years lent its voice to those in England - even before BREXIT - who oppose the European arrest warrant ("The EU Arrest Warrant serves Britain badly"). The European arrest warrant is criticised as being too expensive, abused to prosecute minor offences, and English citizens are burdened with unfair trials and disastrous detention conditions in other European countries.