January 24, 2025 – Following my constitutional complaint, the German Federal Constitutional Court overturned two detention decisions by the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court dated December 17, 2024, and January 3, 2025, in January 2025 (see also the press release of the Federal Constitutional Court No. 8/2025 of January 24, 2025).

German lawyer on European arrest warrant by Italy ("EAW")

The two detention decisions were based on a European arrest warrant (EAW) issued by Italy and were intended to allow the arrest of the persecuted person in Germany.

Important aspects of my constitutional complaint were the social, family, and personal ties of a persecuted person and the lack of proportionality between the European arrest warrant and the fundamental right to liberty of the person concerned. There are comments in the German legal press on the constitutional complaint (including the discussion of the decision in NJW-Spezial 2025, 121), which welcome the BVerfG decision because detention prior to a final conviction is only permissible in exceptional cases due to the presumption of innocence (Art. 20 III GG) and Art. 6 ECHR).

The highest German court also considered the constitutionally required depth of reasoning in detention decisions in connection with the personal and social ties of the persecuted person and the always necessary “proportionality test” in detention decisions to be essential. I often see that the  “proportionality test” I often see that the “proportionality test” is significantly neglected in detention decisions.