• Start date:
  • 16 June 2022
  • Duration:
  • 1 day
  • Legal area:
  • Criminology, Europees recht, Straf(proces)recht
  • Course:
  • Conference

ONE-DAY SEMINAR
on Public Prosecution Services and the Rule of Law in Europe: 
Conceptions and Misconceptions on the Required Level of Independence in a Transnational Context

In various European countries, the precise role and position of public prosecutors have become the subject of heated discussions in recent years, the main issue being their required degree of independence. For most of these countries, it was the CJEU's decision in OG and PI in 2019 that kicked off the discussion. In these cases it was decided that national prosecution services that are subject to directions from the executive branch (e.g. a Minister of Justice), do not qualify as an ‘issuing judicial authority’ within the meaning of EU law and are therefore not authorized to issue a European arrest warrant. In other countries, such as the Netherlands, discussions on the independence of the Public Prosecution Service were already underway when the decision was issued by the CJEU. Debates on the matter are still ongoing in the various European jurisdictions, fuelled only further by post-OG&PI rulings dealing with similar questions on the competence of the public prosecutor in EU criminal matters.

The objective of this seminar is to take stock of the CJEU's line of case-law regarding the independence of public prosecutors in the framework of criminal justice cooperation and its consequences so far, both in the specific context of cooperation in EAW cases, as well as with regard to other judicial cooperation mechanisms. To that end, the seminar will bring together legal scholars and practitioners from a variety of EU Member States and with backgrounds in criminal law, constitutional law and EU law.

Optional: You can attend dinner at 17.30 at Restaurant Wielinga in Leiden. If you choose to join dinner and if you have any special dietary wishes, please inform Dagmar Rasenberg; d.e.rasenberg@law.leidenuniv.nl

Note: Registration for this seminar is possible until 9 June 2022

Conference venue
Law Faculty of Leiden University
Kamerlingh Onnes Building, Steenschuur 25, Leiden
The Netherlands

Organising Committee
Prof. Jannemieke Ouwerkerk
Dr. Sjarai Lestrade
Dr. Kelly Pitcher

About Registration and procedure Online Payment

A direct online payment is required for this Seminar, you will receive an invoice which you can use for example with your employer to declare.

Registration for an activity of the Legal PAO is established by submitting the digital registration form, which you do via the red button at the top right of this webpage.
In order to register, you must have an account or create one first, after which you can register for this seminar.
When registering whether you choose to do this privately or from your company.

Your data will only be used for the service that is necessary for the performance of the activity for which you have registered and the associated administration. No participant lists will be distributed to participants.

If you have any questions, you can of course reach us by telephone on 071 527 8666 or via pao@law.leidenuniv.nl