Eutrusca
19-07-2005, 14:47
COMMENTARY: There have been a number of posts about the Supreme Court of the US on here, but not many about the courts of other nations. This one about the German high court seems to indicate that they can overrule international treties, such as the European Union treaty establishing expedited extradition between member nations.
German High Court Blocks Qaeda Suspect's Extradition (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/international/europe/19germany.html?th&emc=th)
By RICHARD BERNSTEIN
Published: July 19, 2005
BERLIN, July 18 - In a ruling seen as a sharp blow to coordinated counterterrorism efforts in Europe, Germany's highest court refused Monday to turn over to Spain a citizen suspected of aiding Al Qaeda, arguing that a recent European agreement to streamline extradition procedures violated the rights of German citizens.
The case involves Mamoun Darkazanli, 46, a German of Syrian origin suspected by Spanish authorities and independent experts on terrorism of having provided logistical and financial support to Al Qaeda.
Mr. Darkazanli, who runs a trading company in Germany, is pictured on a videotape at a wedding in Hamburg in 1999 attended by two of the pilot-hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Judge Baltazar Garzón of Spain, using the new European procedure, issued a European warrant against Mr. Darkazanli last year, accusing him of being the "permanent interlocutor and assistant" in Europe for Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden.
But on Monday the German Constitutional Court declared the law creating the European warrant void, even though it was ratified by the German Parliament in November. The court reasoned that the law infringed on the right of every citizen of Germany, enshrined in its Basic Law, to a court hearing in this country before extradition can take place.
The ruling will surely be seen as a setback in a Europe that has closer coordination to prevent terrorism at the top of the public agenda and is still reeling from the terrorist attacks in London this month.
"He must be set free following this ruling, which is a blow for the government in its efforts and fight against terrorism," said the German justice minister, Brigitte Zypries, referring to Mr. Darkazanli.
Mr. Darkazanli, who was interrogated by German investigators for several months after the Sept. 11 attacks, has denied having engaged in any terrorist activity, saying he was a businessman who knew members of the Qaeda cell in Germany only "by sight."
"The Darkazanli case is very important," said Daniel Keohane, a security expert at the Center for European Reform, in London, "first because it involves an alleged Al Qaeda connection, and second because it raises questions about whether the European arrest warrant can work at all."
The European arrest warrant, enacted by European Union members early in 2002, allows prosecutors in any member country to request extradition of a person accused in any of about 30 areas of criminal activity from another member without bureaucratic delay or restrictions.
"One argument was that in a modern world, where terrorism crosses borders without restrictions, we needed modern methods that would overcome the traditional high national frontiers to law enforcement," said Hugo Brady, a terrorism expert also at the Center for European Reform. "So if a country's authorities issue a European arrest warrant, the person has to be extradited immediately, with very little room for objection."
The German court first stepped into the Darkazanli case in November, blocking the extradition at the 11th hour.
Since then, the court's decision has been awaited as an important test not just of the European warrant but of the larger principle that once the European Union has enacted a law and a member has ratified it, the European law takes priority over national laws, whether in the realm of criminal procedure or agricultural subsidies.
The warrant has been used frequently since it came into general use last year, including in cases involving crimes like drug trafficking, child abuse and war crimes. But the case of Mr. Darkazanli has been a complicated one, in part because German investigators have not come up with sufficient evidence to put him on trial in this country.
In addition, the German courts have long been openly suspicious of European involvement in criminal procedure, contending, as some opponents of the European arrest warrant have argued, that it means in effect that any European Union member's criminal laws become all the members' criminal laws, even if those laws are deemed too harsh or unreasonable.
In an argument that apparently won the sympathy of the German court, Mr. Darkazanli's lawyers contended that if Mr. Darkazanli's actions were deemed lawful in Germany, to extradite him to Spain for the same actions would render this country's criminal laws meaningless.
"It's a dark day for the terrorist hunter," said a German counterterrorism expert, Rolf Tophoven. "We need new laws to fight terror, because otherwise we will create the impression that German law is protecting militant Islamists."
German High Court Blocks Qaeda Suspect's Extradition (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/international/europe/19germany.html?th&emc=th)
By RICHARD BERNSTEIN
Published: July 19, 2005
BERLIN, July 18 - In a ruling seen as a sharp blow to coordinated counterterrorism efforts in Europe, Germany's highest court refused Monday to turn over to Spain a citizen suspected of aiding Al Qaeda, arguing that a recent European agreement to streamline extradition procedures violated the rights of German citizens.
The case involves Mamoun Darkazanli, 46, a German of Syrian origin suspected by Spanish authorities and independent experts on terrorism of having provided logistical and financial support to Al Qaeda.
Mr. Darkazanli, who runs a trading company in Germany, is pictured on a videotape at a wedding in Hamburg in 1999 attended by two of the pilot-hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Judge Baltazar Garzón of Spain, using the new European procedure, issued a European warrant against Mr. Darkazanli last year, accusing him of being the "permanent interlocutor and assistant" in Europe for Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden.
But on Monday the German Constitutional Court declared the law creating the European warrant void, even though it was ratified by the German Parliament in November. The court reasoned that the law infringed on the right of every citizen of Germany, enshrined in its Basic Law, to a court hearing in this country before extradition can take place.
The ruling will surely be seen as a setback in a Europe that has closer coordination to prevent terrorism at the top of the public agenda and is still reeling from the terrorist attacks in London this month.
"He must be set free following this ruling, which is a blow for the government in its efforts and fight against terrorism," said the German justice minister, Brigitte Zypries, referring to Mr. Darkazanli.
Mr. Darkazanli, who was interrogated by German investigators for several months after the Sept. 11 attacks, has denied having engaged in any terrorist activity, saying he was a businessman who knew members of the Qaeda cell in Germany only "by sight."
"The Darkazanli case is very important," said Daniel Keohane, a security expert at the Center for European Reform, in London, "first because it involves an alleged Al Qaeda connection, and second because it raises questions about whether the European arrest warrant can work at all."
The European arrest warrant, enacted by European Union members early in 2002, allows prosecutors in any member country to request extradition of a person accused in any of about 30 areas of criminal activity from another member without bureaucratic delay or restrictions.
"One argument was that in a modern world, where terrorism crosses borders without restrictions, we needed modern methods that would overcome the traditional high national frontiers to law enforcement," said Hugo Brady, a terrorism expert also at the Center for European Reform. "So if a country's authorities issue a European arrest warrant, the person has to be extradited immediately, with very little room for objection."
The German court first stepped into the Darkazanli case in November, blocking the extradition at the 11th hour.
Since then, the court's decision has been awaited as an important test not just of the European warrant but of the larger principle that once the European Union has enacted a law and a member has ratified it, the European law takes priority over national laws, whether in the realm of criminal procedure or agricultural subsidies.
The warrant has been used frequently since it came into general use last year, including in cases involving crimes like drug trafficking, child abuse and war crimes. But the case of Mr. Darkazanli has been a complicated one, in part because German investigators have not come up with sufficient evidence to put him on trial in this country.
In addition, the German courts have long been openly suspicious of European involvement in criminal procedure, contending, as some opponents of the European arrest warrant have argued, that it means in effect that any European Union member's criminal laws become all the members' criminal laws, even if those laws are deemed too harsh or unreasonable.
In an argument that apparently won the sympathy of the German court, Mr. Darkazanli's lawyers contended that if Mr. Darkazanli's actions were deemed lawful in Germany, to extradite him to Spain for the same actions would render this country's criminal laws meaningless.
"It's a dark day for the terrorist hunter," said a German counterterrorism expert, Rolf Tophoven. "We need new laws to fight terror, because otherwise we will create the impression that German law is protecting militant Islamists."