A standard of fair trial in a criminal case and the European arrest warrant : comments against a background of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

The article focuses on the problem of the right to a fair trial in a criminal case with regard to proceedings in the matter of the European arrest warrant. In the author's opinion, a person pursued by the European arrest warrant shall be guaranteed with the fair trial standards, adequate to its character and aim. The proceeding concerning EAW, however, is not covered by the objective scope of art. 6 of the Convention, due to the fact, that it is not the proceeding in the matter of 'accusation in the criminal case', which does not mean that some safeguards included in this provision may not be vested (the right to defend, the right to use help of the interpreter). In the author's opinion it has to be reserved, that the person pursued by the European arrest warrant is not entitled to such safeguards due to the fact, that 'legitimacy of the accusation in the criminal case is being decided', but due to the fact, that they belong to the canon (standard) of any fair trial, also in case of incidental or subsidiary character, however the scope of rights is different. The proceeding concerning the European arrest warrant must be fair (honest), as every trial or other proceeding exercised in front of the entitled state's authority, however not in every case full safeguards of proceeding's 'fairness', resulted from art. 6 of the Convention, must be affirmed. Its aim is not to ensure equal safeguards in every criminal proceeding, because it is limited only to the proceeding, in which the case is adjudicate only to its substance ('accusation's legitimacy').